In-house research, PCB assembly, thermal encapsulation, and system testing in Bavaria.
DVCHx3 converter platforms stepping high traction voltage down to 12V/24V/48V auxiliary grids.
Full potting protects internal planar magnetics against moisture, dust, and continuous shock.
Integrated microcontrollers providing real-time diagnostics, voltage control, and fleet integration.
The global transition of heavy-duty mobile working machinery—including excavators, wheel loaders, mining haulers, forestry harvesters, and municipal utility vehicles—toward full electrification and hybrid power architectures presents unprecedented electrical, thermal, and mechanical challenges. Unlike standard automotive applications, a Mobile Work Machine Converter operates in severe working conditions characterized by high shock loads, intense continuous vibrations, wide temperature fluctuations (-40°C to +85°C), and highly contaminated environments containing stone dust, mud, conductive particles, and hydraulic fluid splashes.
As off-highway OEMs replace legacy belt-driven alternators with high-voltage traction batteries ranging from 300VDC to over 800VDC, high-efficiency step-down DC/DC power converters become the critical nerve system of the onboard electrical architecture. The mobile work machine converter acts as the Auxiliary Power Distribution Unit (APDU) interface, continuously feeding low-voltage 12V, 24V, or 48V sub-grids that power essential vehicle sub-systems: electronic control units (ECUs), steer-by-wire hydraulic pumps, safety lighting, cab climate controls, radar/LiDAR sensors, and telemetry systems.
To ensure uncompromised operational uptime and prevent costly field failures in off-highway environments, global procurement teams and system integration engineers must look beyond basic datasheet peak power ratings. Selection requires evaluating long-term thermal dissipation mechanisms, galvanic safety isolation, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC under ISO 13766 and ISO 14982), and automated diagnostic communication protocols via CAN bus (SAE J1939 or CANopen).
Proven across thousands of heavy machinery deployments globally, Deutronic DC/DC converter series combine high-frequency planar magnetics with robust mechanical encapsulation to guarantee continuous full-load delivery under extreme stress.
Engineered specifically for heavy-duty electric and fuel-cell mobile work machines operating on high-voltage battery architecture. The DVCH platform bridges the traction battery to low-voltage auxiliary networks with outstanding efficiency exceeding 95%.
The DVC platform delivers ruggedized step-down power conversion for hybrid mobile machinery, material handling equipment, AGVs, and municipal service vehicles equipped with 48V, 80V, or 96V primary supply buses.
For systems engineers and procurement directors evaluating power conversion topologies, the table below provides a comparative analysis of key architectural parameters across mobile machinery electrification tiers.
| Technical Parameter | Standard Industrial Converter | Deutronic DVC Series | Deutronic DVCH Series (High Voltage) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input Voltage Range | Narrow 2:1 or 4:1 (e.g., 18-36V) | Wide dynamic 24V - 150VDC | High-Voltage 200V - 900VDC Continuous |
| Thermal Management | Internal fan / Forced air | Baseplate Contact Cooling / Fluid Cold Plate | Baseplate Contact Cooling / Fluid Cold Plate |
| Enclosure Protection | IP20 - IP44 (Vented) | IP67 / IP6K9K Fully Potted Baseplate | IP67 / IP6K9K Hermetically Encapsulated |
| Shock & Vibration Rating | Standard commercial (EN 60068) | Off-highway heavy duty (ISO 16750-3 / EN 61373) | Off-highway heavy duty (ISO 16750-3 / EN 61373) |
| Vehicle Communication | None or basic discrete signals | CAN Bus (SAE J1939 / CANopen) | CAN Bus (SAE J1939 / CANopen) software controls |
| Efficiency & Magnetics | Wire-wound 85% - 88% | Planar Magnetics > 94% | Planar Magnetics / SiC Topologies > 95% |
Need custom voltage scaling or specialized mechanical mounting for your prototype vehicle?
Send an InquiryThe off-highway vehicle market is experiencing a structural technological transformation. As original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) shift from pilot electrification projects to high-volume series production, several key technological and purchasing trends are defining the future specification of the Mobile Work Machine Converter:
To reduce copper cable weight, improve fast-charging performance, and boost overall powertrain efficiency, heavy mobile machinery manufacturers are rapidly transitioning from legacy 400V battery architectures to 800V nominal systems. This transition demands high-voltage step-down converters capable of handling voltage peaks up to 900V DC without thermal stress. Deutronic is at the forefront of incorporating Silicon Carbide (SiC) power electronics into its high-voltage DVCH platform, enabling higher switching frequencies, reducing magnetics size, and minimizing switching losses to deliver ultra-compact power density.
Modern off-highway vehicles cannot tolerate mechanical single-point-of-failure components. Forced-air cooling fans are prone to clogging by mud, agricultural debris, and high-pressure washing during equipment cleaning. Future procurement trends emphasize contact-cooled DC/DC converters. By mounting the converter baseplate directly to the vehicle chassis or a liquid-chilled cold plate, heat is efficiently dissipated by thermal conduction, allowing the converter housing to be fully potted and sealed to IP67/IP6K9K standards.
Static power supplies are being superseded by intelligent, software-defined power converters. Modern vehicle ECUs require dynamic real-time communication with the mobile work machine converter to monitor input/output current, baseplate temperature, operating state, and fault logs. Through standard SAE J1939 CAN protocols, the vehicle control unit can dynamically adjust secondary output voltages (e.g., boosting voltage to charge auxiliary 12V/24V AGM or Lithium batteries during braking, or derating power during high ambient temperatures) to optimize system-wide energy consumption.
Rather than installing multiple disparate power components, machinery designers are combining high-voltage DC/DC conversion, low-voltage distribution, fuse monitoring, and pre-charge circuitry into unified, space-saving APDU modules. Deutronic’s flexible design methodology enables fast customized integration, allowing OEMs to reduce vehicle assembly times, simplify wire harnesses, and streamline international safety compliance (ISO 13766, ISO 14982, EN 1175).
Deutronic mobile work machine converters are designed to operate continuously across diverse heavy-duty industrial sectors, surviving severe shock, thermal stress, and dusty environments.
Electric excavators, wheel loaders, haul trucks, and drill rigs demand robust high-voltage conversion to drive 24V steering systems, hydraulic actuators, cab heating, and safety illumination under severe shock and vibration.
Explore Mining & Construction
Battery-electric tractors, harvesters, and forestry forwarders require potted IP6K9K sealed converters capable of resisting continuous dust, high-pressure washdowns, and wide ambient temperature swings.
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Electric refuse trucks, street sweepers, and airport ground support equipment (GSE) utilize Deutronic converters to supply constant, noise-free auxiliary power to specialized hydraulic pumps and warning systems.
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Heavy counterbalance forklifts, yard tractors, and reach stackers leverage compact DVC converters for reliable voltage conversion from 48V/80V traction battery packs to 12V/24V telemetry and display electronics.
Explore Material Handling
With over 35 years of dedicated power electronics engineering experience in Adlkofen, Bavaria, Deutronic Elektronik GmbH provides end-to-end expertise spanning initial concept design, firmware coding, thermal simulation, hardware prototyping, full-scale automated assembly, and long-term lifecycle support.
Because all development, SMD/THT printed circuit board assembly, vacuum potting, final mechanical assembly, and end-of-line testing take place internally under strict ISO 9001 and IATF-aligned quality management systems, Deutronic eliminates supply chain friction and provides total quality assurance.
Detailed technical answers addressing core procurement, integration, safety, and operational considerations for mobile work machine converters.
Deutronic offers two primary product series designed for diverse vehicle electrification architectures. The DVC series covers low-to-medium input voltage ranges (typically 24VDC to 150VDC), ideal for standard material handling, AGVs, and 48V/80V hybrid systems. The high-voltage DVCH series operates continuously with high-voltage traction battery inputs up to 900 VDC (covering 200V-900V operational windows), making it the premier step-down converter choice for heavy-duty 400V and 800V battery-electric off-highway machinery.
Baseplate contact cooling eliminates moving mechanical parts such as cooling fans, which frequently fail in off-highway environments due to dust accumulation, mud buildup, or water ingress. By dissipating heat conduction-wise through a flat aluminum baseplate directly onto the vehicle chassis frame or a dedicated cooling plate, the converter can be fully vacuum-potted to IP67 or IP6K9K standards. This guarantees complete protection against vibration, humidity, and chemical contaminants while dramatically extending MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures).
Deutronic mobile work machine converters feature integrated microcontroller hardware with CAN bus communication interfaces supporting industry-standard SAE J1939 and CANopen software protocols. This permits the main vehicle control unit (VCU) to monitor dynamic operating parameters in real-time—including input voltage, output current, internal temperature, fault diagnostic codes, and operating hours—as well as send remote commands to adjust output voltages or enable low-power sleep modes.
Yes. Deutronic high-voltage converters provide reinforced galvanic isolation between the high-voltage primary DC bus and the low-voltage secondary auxiliary grid, ensuring safety for service technicians and protecting low-voltage sensitive electronics from high-voltage transients. The converter platforms comply with demanding electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) standards including ISO 13766 (Earth-moving machinery), ISO 14982 (Agricultural machinery), EN 1175 (Industrial truck safety), and ISO 16750 (Road vehicles environmental conditions).
Yes. Deutronic DVC and DVCH converters can be configured with active output current-sharing mechanisms, allowing multiple converter units to operate in parallel to supply elevated auxiliary load requirements (e.g., scaling from 3kW to 6kW or 9kW total auxiliary output). Integrated droop control or CAN-assisted load synchronization ensures balanced thermal load distribution across all paralleled units without destabilizing the secondary voltage bus.
Unlike off-the-shelf catalog distributors, Deutronic maintains complete internal control over R&D, PCB assembly, housing encapsulation, and final testing at its headquarters in Germany. This allows our application engineering team to support small-to-medium series modifications—including customized voltage setpoints, bespoke mechanical mounting flanges, specialized heavy-duty connector interfaces (e.g., Amphenol, Deutsch, TE Connectivity), and custom CAN communication matrices—with minimal non-recurring engineering (NRE) lead times.
Contact our application engineering team to discuss your project specifications—voltage ranges, power density requirements, thermal profiles, and CAN communication matrices.