BMW Media- BMW Technology Communications . information Technology transfer from Formula 07/2008 page 1 One to series production. Contents: • Technology accelerator for series development: BMW transfers lessons from the race track onto the road. • KERS powers Formula One into a new dimension. • Casting technology for Formula One and series production. • The engine: the thrill of a V8 powerplant designed to ideal dimensions. • The CFRP roof: a development highlight from the Landshut CFRP centre of technology. • Revolutionary logistics: traceability of cast components. • Wind tunnel: synergies for series production. • Pit stop in Hinwil. • The new supercomputer: Albert3. BMW Media- information 07/2008 page 2 Technology accelerator for series development : BMW transfers lessons from the race track onto the road. One of the fundamental aims stated by BMW for its return to GP racing in 2000 was the creation of synergies between F1 and series production. The development of the Formula One powertrain and electronics has been integrated with impressive effectiveness at the Munich plant. The BMW Research and Innovation Centre (FIZ), a type of automotive think-tank, plays a key role in this process. The F1 factory was built less than a kilometre away from the centre and the two facilities are interconnected. “The FIZ represents the future of BMW, with elite engineers working in state-of-the-art research and development facilities,” says BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. “The FIZ has vast resources at its disposal, from which we benefit directly. At the same time, due to the extreme technical challenges and pace of development demanded by grand prix racing, the company’s involvement in F1 represents a unique proving ground for our engineers.” The expertise acquired remains within the company, where it benefits the development of production cars. Knowledge developed for use in Formula One in the machining of different materials and components, e.g. cylinder heads and crankcases, finds its way into both the construction of series- produced passenger cars and the development of motorcycles at BMW Motorrad. Other areas of focus include the advancement of expertise in CFRP materials and their use in body construction, and the development of hybrid components for Formula One and derivatives for road cars. Series production also enjoys the fruits of development and logistics processes honed in the world of F1. Examples include the progress made in the field of aerodynamics and the systems control unit. KERS powers Formula One into a new dimension. Hybrid technology in Formula One has been given the go-ahead and the development process is under way. Powered by a modified drive concept, the top category of motor racing is poised to enter a new dimension in 2009 – and deliver significant impetus for the development of standard production vehicles in the process. From the start of next season, the Formula One regulations allow for the use of hybrid technology to increase the output and efficiency of the cars. To this end, the BMW Sauber F1 Team is working flat out on the development of its KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) brake energy regeneration system. BMW Sauber F1 Team enhances the hybrid expertise of the BMW Group. As Dr Klaus Draeger, member of the BMW AG Board of Management BMW Media- information 07/2008 page 3 responsible for development, reports: “The BMW Group can transfer the knowledge gained within the BMW Sauber F1 Team directly into the development of standard production vehicles. This makes Formula One the ideal predevelopment platform for innovative drive technologies. The new Formula One regulations give us the opportunity to use innovative hybrid technology under extreme conditions and in so doing to garner crucial expertise for series development as well. BMW customers stand to benefit as a result. The KERS unit designed for the BMW Sauber F1.09 is a highly effective variant of brake energy regeneration technology, and is similar in the way it works to the ActiveHybrid technology developed for BMW standard production vehicles.” BMW Sauber F1 Team develops electric KERS system . KERS enables the regeneration and storage of braking energy, which is then put on tap as an extra source of power under acceleration to complement the output of the V8 engine. The BMW Sauber F1 Team has decided to focus its efforts on an electric solution. The BMW Sauber F1.09 will be equipped with a hybrid system consisting of a combination of electric engine and generator, the requisite power electronics and an energy storage module. The BMW Sauber F1.09 will store enough energy under braking to provide an additional 60 kW of output over some 6.5 seconds of acceleration. The complete system will weigh under 40 kg. This means that the power density of the F1 KERS technology will be considerably greater than that of the systems currently used in standard production vehicles. The newly acquired expertise will flow straight into production car development over the years to come. “For us KERS is an extremely exciting project and a great opportunity. We are standing at the threshold between a conventional package of engine and independent transmission and an integrated drive system,” explains Mario Theissen. “The power density of the KERS components will far exceed that of today’s hybrid vehicles. KERS will see Formula One take on a pioneering role for series production technologies going forward. F1 will give a baptism of fire to innovative concepts whose service life and reliability have not yet reached the level required for series production vehicles, and their development will be driven forward at full speed. At BMW we have always used the Formula One project as a technology laboratory for series production. With KERS this approach takes on a whole new dimension. Formula One will reposition itself and undergo a change of image, allowing the sport to take significant strides forward in terms of public acceptance.” The BMW Group already features a brake energy regeneration system in a BMW Media- information 07/2008 page 4 large number of its series-produced models as part of its BMW EfficientDynamics package. It is also preparing to introduce BMW ActiveHybrid technology in various model series. Casting technology for Formula One and series production. The casting quality of the engine block, cylinder head and gearbox plays a crucial role in determining their performance and durability. Advanced casting techniques, coupled with high-precision process management, enable the production of lightweight components with impressive rigidity. To ensure that production models benefit from these developments, BMW has its own foundry in Landshut. In 2001, this was joined by a dedicated F1 casting facility. The two departments are jointly managed to ensure a constant exchange of information and expertise. The same sand-casting procedure as is used for the production of the Formula One V8 engine is also applied to oil sumps for the M models, the intake manifold for the eight-cylinder diesel engine and prototypes for future generations of engines. Virtually at the same time as the F1 foundry went on stream, an F1 parts manufacturing facility based on the same template joined the series production facility. This is where the team make components such as the camshafts and crankshafts for the F1 engine . The BMW Landshut Plant: an integral part of the BMW worldwide production network. The Landshut Plant has been an integral part of the BMW Group’s production network since 1967. The components made here are delivered to the company’s engine and car plants around the world and used in virtually all the vehicles built by the BMW Group – from motorcycles and BMW cars to the BMW Sauber F1 Team Formula One racing car. A workforce of some 3,300 employees produce cylinder heads and crankcases from aluminium castings, instrument panels, bumpers, plastic components for the interior and exterior, drive shafts and reconditioned engines. The component manufacturing work at Landshut has been adapted in line with the technological development of BMW vehicles. Today, the plant is incorporated into the development processes for the company’s vehicles at an early stage in order to make even better use of the benefits of innovative materials and manufacturing processes in the construction of new vehicles and their components. Pooled casting expertise. The Landshut foundry is the only facility within the BMW Group’s worldwide production network which manufactures components from light-alloy castings. Each year, the employees produce around 1.8 million engine BMW Media- information 07/2008 page 5 components with a total weight of more than 30,000 tonnes. A special feature of the Landshut light-alloy foundry is that five different casting methods are used in series production: sand-casting, gravity and low pressure permanent mould casting, die casting and lost foam casting. The foundry specialists select the right casting process for the engine concept, technological requirements and production volumes concerned in order to achieve the highest possible standards for the engines. The sand-casting centre of technology. The sand-casting centre of technology is not only the production location for the cylinder heads and crankcase of the BMW Formula One engines, but also a highly specialised prototype centre for the development of future series components. The cylinder heads and crankcase for virtually every BMW series-produced engine will continue to be manufactured in the development phase in the Landshut sand-casting centre of technology. The specialists at the centre have made steady improvements in the process of sand-casting – which dates back several thousand years now – for the manufacture of the components. Significant construction freedom, high alteration flexibility and short processing times are all characteristic features of a process which sees the liquid aluminium poured into a complex negative sand mould made up of up to 30 different cured sand cores.