The big changes on the wheels are still going on.
Driven by a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial revolution, the automotive industry is undergoing a "great change unseen in a century", which is naturally inseparable from the strong support of many new materials and technologies.
When the ultimate driving experience of "comfort and handling" has become a major "selling point" for OEMs to launch smart cars, a new generation of intelligent suspension has become an inevitable trend in the development of the industry. In the past, magnetorheological suspension may have been exclusive to some high-end models, but now, this technology is gradually being applied to more and more smart cars.
According to Transparency Market Research (TMR), in the next 15-20 years, nearly half of the world's automotive shock absorbers will use magnetorheological technology. In the face of the market of magnetorheological suspension, Chengdu Kärcher Automotive Chassis System Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "KÄRCHE") has broken the status quo of magnetorheological technology monopolized by foreign technology in one fell swoop by virtue of forward-looking strategic vision and lasting investment in science and technology, and accurately stepped on the industry outlet.
Image source: Dongsheng
In the "second half" of intelligence, magnetorheological change is the key driving force
Traditional automobiles are developing in the direction of intelligence, and the suspension system is also being intelligently upgraded. As one of the routes of intelligent suspension, magnetorheological technology is becoming a key driving force for intelligent vehicles.
In 1938, the Chevrolet Motor Company of United States used a 9-minute advertisement to vividly show consumers the important role of suspension systems. As the ad shows, a conventional suspension system consists mainly of coil springs and shock absorbers, which work together to dampen the vehicle.
The suspension system has two most important parameters: stiffness and damping. The stiffness characteristics are mainly provided by the springs, and the damping characteristics are mainly provided by the shock absorbers. However, due to the fact that the stiffness and damping of the traditional suspension system are not adjustable from the factory, its coil springs and passive hydraulic shock absorbers have been difficult to meet the underlying execution needs of intelligent driving.
New technologies such as a new generation of air springs, solenoid valve shock absorbers, and magnetorheological shock absorbers can dynamically adjust the stiffness and damping through electronic control algorithms, so they can better adapt to the new trend of vehicle electrification and intelligence, which are favored by more and more OEMs and have achieved rapid development in the market.
Among them, the advantages of magnetorheological suspension are particularly prominent. Gasgoo learned from Kärcher that the biggest advantage of magnetorheological suspension is to make up for the pain point that traditional shock absorbers can only make a trade-off between comfort and stability. It can take into account comfort and stability at the same time, with fast response, high damping force at low speed, wide range of damping force adjustment range, and large operating temperature range.
Image source: Dongsheng
Why is this possible? The reason for this is that the magnetorheological suspension system turns the oil in the damping cylinder into a "magnetorheological fluid". The piston rod of the shock absorber is wound with an electromagnetic coil, and the current is generated after the current is applied, and the magnetic field passes through the magnetorheological fluid, so that the soft particles in the liquid form a fiber structure arranged along the direction of the fluid, and the strength of the magnetic field is proportional to the magnitude of the current, so changing the magnitude of the current can change the damping magnitude, and the force of its compression and rebound is symmetrical.
To a certain extent, the magnetorheological suspension with "magnetorheological fluid" as the core can be quickly adjusted in all situations, and is the best automotive vibration damping technology solution with the fastest response speed and mass production.
KÄRCHER bravely broke through barriers and has achieved localized production
In fact, the "hard technology" of magnetorheological technology is not new, it originated in Delphi, United States. Previously, magnetorheological materials related technology has been monopolized by overseas manufacturers, and in the automotive field, LORD is the dominant company, and BWI (Delphi) cooperates with it to provide magnetorheological suspension solutions using LORD magnetorheological fluids. In addition, because magnetorheological materials can be used in the military industry, overseas manufacturers have imposed an embargo on China, making magnetorheological suspension providers more dependent on LORD.
As a high-end "black technology", "magnetorheological suspension" has been applied to Ferrari F8, 488, SF90 and other models for a long time, and it is Cadillac's royal semi-active suspension type. It is also mass-produced in the mid-to-high-end SUV models of many OEMs, such as Lamborghini, McLaren GT, 540C, Cadillac CT6, Escalade, ATS, Audi R8, Ford Mustang, etc.
At present, the penetration rate of new energy vehicles in mainland China has exceeded 50% for two consecutive months, and the future development potential of magnetorheological technology should not be underestimated when the industry is about to usher in the "second half" of intelligence. In this context, domestic local enterprises strive to break through the encirclement and firmly grasp this technology in their own hands!
Gasgoo has learned that Kärcher has been focusing on the R&D, design, manufacturing and sales of automotive fully active electronic control air suspension system (ECAS), which has filled the domestic gap, realized the independent production of core components such as magnetorheological fluid, and has the ability to supply or supply the entire magnetorheological suspension system or supply it separately.
The magnetorheological suspension system developed by KÄRCHER is simpler in structure. At present, there are 9 development projects in the field of buses, and the development of magnetorheological technology for 9-12 meter tourist buses is carried out, covering many domestic bus factories. In the case of RV applications, the development project is targeted at a variety of vehicle types. According to public reports, in April this year, the Karcher magnetorheological suspension system was successfully applied to the latest RV series of Yutong RV, which significantly improved its comfort, stability and safety.
For the broader passenger car market, and even the passenger car modification market, Kärcher is also expanding its territory. Among the models that have been mass-produced, there are many popular models on the market, as well as star products in new energy vehicle brands.
It is reported that a new car-making brand is communicating with Kärcher for magnetorheological suspension, and has completed the magnetorheological shock absorber program, and will start trial production and commissioning soon. In addition, a number of independent car companies and new energy vehicle brands are actively communicating with each other.
When the iterative trend of new energy vehicle products becomes "user-perceivable", Kärcher uses magnetorheological technology to greatly improve the user's driving experience, truly achieving "people-oriented" and "safety first".
Taking the initiative to adapt to the development trend of the new energy vehicle industry, Kärcher stepped on the tuyere of magnetorheological technology, which is inseparable from the forward-looking layout of the enterprise helmsman.
KÄRCHER is a subsidiary of Yangzhou Dongsheng Auto Parts Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Dongsheng"). Liu Xu, chairman of Dongsheng, has entered the magnetorheological shock absorber track with the strategic vision of revitalizing the new magnetorheological technology. This has greatly accelerated the localization process of magnetorheological technology, and made magnetorheological shock absorbers have been popularized in a wider range in the field of passenger cars.
The market prospect is considerable, and it depends on real skills to step on the tuyere
From breaking the technology monopoly to seizing the incremental market, service guarantee is indispensable. Based on the long-term perspective, Liu Xu has been committed to building Kärcher into a one-stop full-case service provider integrating R&D and manufacturing, testing and testing, sales and maintenance, and online and offline after-sales.
Gasgoo understands that in terms of aftermarket services, the installation and disassembly of Karcher magnetorheological suspension is simple and fast, and there is a professional experience and technical team to teach online and offline, and in case of emergency, there are 24-hour commissioners in China to go directly to the scene, and the after-sales service is worry-free, so that users can buy more at ease.
In addition, the Karcher magnetorheological suspension system adopts the self-developed all-digital "attribute separation method" control system, and the algorithm technology, processing method and control strategy are significantly better than the "Sky Hook Algorithm" under the traditional analog technology.
"The rapid development of new energy vehicles has brought new opportunities for enterprises. Scientific and technological innovation and product upgrading have become the driving force for the sustainable development of every enterprise. Liu Xu emphasized. Deeply cultivated in the automotive field for many years, the personality charm of the person at the helm of the enterprise has been integrated into the development process of the enterprise. In the 2018 selection of outstanding figures in China's automobile industry to commemorate the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up, Liu Xu was among the 8 winners in the parts manufacturer group.
In the same year, Dongsheng became the only Chinese supplier in Greater China to be nominated for the biennial Daimler Global Supplier Quality Award. In 2019, Dongsheng was approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China as the first batch of "specialized, special and new" small giant enterprises.
Going back to the present, Dongsheng has made an automotive magnetorheological suspension system from a small stabilizer bar, which is the result of its continuous focus on independent innovation and exploration of new development. This requires not only forward-looking strategic vision, but also continuous investment in scientific research.
At present, Dongsheng has built a provincial-level "Enterprise Technology Center", "Engineering Technology Research Center" and "Engineering Research Center", and has set up "National Postdoctoral Research Workstation", "Jiangsu Enterprise Graduate Workstation" and "Jiangsu Provincial Postdoctoral Practice Base", and was approved as "National Intellectual Property Advantage Enterprise" in 2022.
Image source: Dongsheng
It is worth mentioning that in 2020, Dongsheng cooperated with Southeast University to jointly transform the "Key Technology and Application of Innovative Design and Collaborative Control of High-performance Vehicle Chassis Structure", which won the first prize of "Science and Technology Progress Award" of the Ministry of Education, in the enterprise, and pioneered the intelligent magnetic arc welding production line in Asia, realizing the perfect conversion of scientific and technological achievements to industrialization, and the project has completed the final acceptance in June 2024.
On the road of transformation of the new energy vehicle industry, there has always been no shortage of stories of enterprises "taking advantage of the situation". In the face of the "great changes unseen in a century" in the automobile industry, Dongsheng is not only a witness, but also an in-depth participant. With the continuous expansion of the intelligent suspension market in the future, the future journey of Dongsheng is more worth looking forward to.