BWI Group has launched its integrated Dynamic Brake Control (iDBC) 1-Box system in Europe, an electro-hydraulic brake-by-wire unit that builds hydraulic pressure roughly three times faster than a conventional vacuum-boosted actuator. The system is BWI Group’s first European brake program and replaces the conventional brake actuator and vacuum booster with a single compact unit. It gives automakers a fully tunable regenerative-to-friction blending system for calibrating brake pedal feel on electric vehicles. The company frames the launch as part of a broader shift of the vehicle chassis into a software-defined, programmable domain.
Highlights
- Electro-hydraulic 1-Box unit replaces the conventional brake actuator and vacuum booster, cutting pressure build time to about a third of a conventional system
- Full control software — stability functions, driver-assistance functions, and regenerative braking algorithms — developed entirely in-house by BWI Group
- Designed as an ASIL-D system with a direct mechanical hydraulic path from the pedal pushrod to the calipers as a fail-safe backup
- Validated through high- and low-temperature testing, including a winter program on ice and snow at BWI Group’s low-adherence facility in Arjeplog, Sweden
How the iDBC System Works
When the driver presses the brake pedal, pressure does not transfer directly to the calipers. A pedal travel sensor and a pressure sensor relay driver intent to the electronic control unit, which commands a motor in the pressure supply unit to build the hydraulic pressure the calipers need. Decoupling the pedal from the calipers this way eliminates the pedal vibration drivers feel during ABS activation, supports a pedal feel that automakers can tune to their brand, and improves overall noise, vibration, and harshness performance.
“The vehicle chassis is becoming a digitized, software-controlled system, and the brakes are no longer a discrete mechanical assembly but a programmable subsystem,” said Andrea Ciavolino, TPL and Product Manager at BWI Group. “That shift opens up a level of tunability and refinement that simply was not available with conventional vacuum-boosted hardware. Pedal feel can be calibrated to an OEM’s preference, regenerative and friction braking can be smoothly blended, and the system can be refined further across the lifecycle of the vehicle.”
A Software Stack Built Entirely In-House
BWI Group developed the iDBC as a turnkey package — the hydraulic unit, valves, electronics, base software, and every control function came from the company itself. That includes the stability functions (ABS, electronic stability control, traction control), driver-assistance functions (hill holder, electric parking brake, automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go), and the regenerative braking, one-pedal drive, and driver brake alert algorithms.
The faster pressure build — about three times quicker than a conventional vacuum-boosted actuator — is particularly relevant for automatic emergency braking and other driver-assistance functions that depend on rapid intervention. Decoupling the pedal from the calipers also lays architectural groundwork for the system redundancy that highly automated driving will eventually require.
Fail-Safe by Design
As an ASIL-D system, the iDBC was engineered around fail-safe operation from the outset, with a direct hydraulic path from the brake pedal pushrod to the calipers serving as a mechanical backup if the electronic system fails.
“Brakes are one of the most safety-critical systems on any vehicle, so every engineering decision flows from that,” Ciavolino said. “We designed the iDBC so that the driver always retains the ability to stop the car, even under a fault condition that disables every electronic system on the vehicle. The mechanical hydraulic path is the final line of defense.”
BWI Group validated the system across the operating conditions a passenger vehicle typically encounters in service, including high- and low-temperature testing and a full winter program on ice and snow at the company’s low-adherence facility in Arjeplog, in northern Sweden.
BWI Group is a tier-1 supplier of chassis systems, supplying brake and suspension technology to more than 50 passenger vehicle brands globally.
Subscribe to The BRAKE Report. Get the Handbook free.
