Buehler Motor President Robert Riedford called GM’s upcoming Volt a “tough engineering challenge” for his company’s new electric coolant pumps.

General Motors has not released many supplier names for its Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle program, slated for production in 2010. So Germany-based Buehler Motor GmbH is way ahead of the pack in confirming a production contract for a key application for the car—12-W and 50-W auxiliary coolant pumps used for cooling multiple subsystems in the advanced-propulsion vehicle.

According to Robert Riedford, President and General Manager of Buehler Motor Inc., the company’s U.S. group, the Volt contract presented a “tough engineering challenge” to the 150-year-old supplier of mechatronic technologies, including specialized electric motors and controls.

“The pumps have to run extremely quietly because this is an electric car,” Riedford explained, “and they have to be extremely robust.” Volt will use “multiple” 50-W pumps and at least one 12-W pump, he said. The 50-W unit features its own integrated electronics.

Another technical challenge was developing a novel method of sensing the pump’s impeller speed, Riedford said. The pumps’ overall mechatronic design features brushless dc motors, similar to the type used by Buehler in its four-wheel-drive transfer case actuator systems produced for GM, Magna, and others since the 1990s.

Speaking at Buehler’s booth at the recent Convergence 2008 conference, Riedford explained that he cannot divulge much technical detail at this stage of the Volt’s development. Buehler Motor and GM have been working together in a technology partnership since mid-2007 on the coolant pump systems. Buehler engineers are stationed at GM’s Volt engineering center in Warren, MI.

参考译文：

Beuhler Motor总裁Robert Riedford称，GM将推出的Volt对于Buehler Motor公司的新型电冷却泵是一个严峻的挑战。

对于将在2010年量产的长期电动汽车项目——Chevrolet Volt （雪佛兰Volt），GM尚未公布其多数供应商的名字。所以德国Buehler Motor Gmbh公司是较早确认与Volt的量产供货合同的，它将为这款具有先进动力的车辆提供冷却多个子系统所用的12W和50W辅助冷却泵。

据公司的美国分部即Beuhler Motor Inc.的总裁和总经理Robert Riedford称，对于他们这个在特种电机和控制等机电技术方面有着150年历史的供应商而言，Volt项目合同是一个严峻的挑战。

Riedford 解释说，“由于Volt是电动车，这些冷却泵的运转必须极其安静，极其稳健”。他说，Volt将采用多个50W的和至少一个12W的泵，而50W泵单元将有其自身的集成电子系统。

他说，另外一个技术挑战是如何开发一种新颖的方法来感知泵轮的转速。该泵的整体机电设计采用无刷直流电机，这与Buehler公司自1990年代开始为GM、Magna等企业所提供的四轮驱动分动箱执行器系统中的泵是同一类型的。

在最近的Convergence 2008会议上，Riedford 解释说，鉴于Volt的当前开发进展，他不能透露太多的技术细节。Buehler Motor和GM自2007年年中就开始在冷却泵系统方面的技术合作。Buehler的工程师目前正驻在GM位于Warren, MI的Volt工程中心里。