It is clearly the centrepiece of racing car development at Sauber Motorsport: the gigantic wind tunnel in Hinwil (canton of Zurich). Thanks to its 3 MW blower and 300 km/h rolling road, the wind tunnel can be used to simulate racing situations in order to analyse and optimise the aerodynamics of racing cars. For example, the contact pressure exerted by a vehicle against the ground can be measured under the tyres using high-precision three-dimensional force measuring systems accommodated in test boxes. At speeds of up to 300 km/h, huge forces are generated, e.g. up to 2.5 tons of force pressing the vehicle into the ground. Six of these test boxes are installed in the wind tunnel, one of which can weigh up to 1.5 tons. A continuous steel belt with a width of 3.20 m is arranged on top that gently floats thanks to air bearings providing four bars of pressure. During operation, the belt rotates opposite the direction of travel so that vehicles can basically drive at this location. This part of the wind tunnel is thus also known as the “rolling road”. Even cornering can be simulated since the overall unit, which weighs in at about 70 tons, can be rotated by up to +/-10° on each side.

The Sinamics S210 converter system combines with the Simotics 1FK2 motors to form a compact servo solution in the power range from 50 W to 7 kW, including integrated safety functions for humans and machines. The connection to the master Simatic controller is implemented via Profinet IRT communication. Fast commissioning is possible via the TIA Portal or the integrated web server.