CLIENT PROFILE
Our client, a European manufacturer of small electric utility vehicles, faced the challenge of extending the life of an aging vehicle platform while developing a new one tailored for last-mile delivery. This meant redesigning and modernizing several electrical systems to improve performance, reliability, and flexibility — while keeping development time and costs under control.
As the only embedded software engineer on the project, our team member Lukas was responsible for the full chain — from PCB design to firmware development — and played a key role in ensuring the solution would be both functional and scalable.
THE CHALLENGE
The company needed someone with expertise in PCB design and embedded software to replace complex wire circuits and bulky relays with smarter, more flexible electronic solutions.
As Lukas recalls:
“The client was not familiar with the software and electronics world and needed someone on short notice.”
Beyond integration, the project brought added complexity:
- Swapping older components with newer ones while maintaining full vehicle functionality.
- Ensuring seamless integration of electrical systems with the new chassis, suspension, and battery pack.
- Managing development without existing internal expertise in PCB or firmware design.
- Developing solutions largely from scratch, with minimal references or prior examples.
Lukas emphasized one key difficulty:
“The bench was not perfect, so testing and debugging required a lot of extra effort.”
OUR SOLUTION
Through Engibex, Lukas joined the electrical team as the sole engineer responsible for PCB and embedded software development. He took ownership of the complete development chain: designing, developing, testing, and validating all PCB solutions.
Key contributions included:
- Designing a translator PCB to integrate a new battery management system (BMS) into the existing vehicle communication protocol.
- Creating a fuse box PCB for safe distribution of the 12V rail.
- Developing a full Vehicle Control Unit (VCU), handling both PCB design and firmware development.
Because Lukas was the only specialist in this domain, most of the work was individual. Yet integration was highly collaborative:
“Designing a PCB was something for me to do on my own, but integrating it was a team effort. With the mechanical team, we had to find a safe place in the vehicle for the PCB. With the electrical team, we had to ensure the rail could handle the current draw and select the right connectors.”
He also navigated significant technical obstacles:
“I was developing firmware on a microcontroller where there wasn’t much information available. None of the CAN peripheral examples worked, and there was no online guidance. I had to set up a plan, test step by step, and figure it out by myself. After a couple of days, I discovered it was one weird parameter for the clock speed. Once I fixed that, everything fell into place.”
TOOLS & METHODS
For PCB design, Lukas relied on KiCAD, noting: “I didn’t use any special kinds of software to develop PCBs — I found that the free tool KiCAD is perfectly capable of everything we needed.” On the embedded software side, he explained: “The toolkits of the microcontroller manufacturers were good enough for development. I personally prefer STM microcontrollers, so the tool STM32CubeIDE was mainly used.”
IMPACT & OUTCOME
The project advanced to a functional prototype stage, where the electrical solutions and firmware were successfully validated internally. The new design demonstrated clear advantages over traditional approaches, reducing system complexity by replacing bulky relay-based circuits with efficient PCB and embedded software solutions.
Although external client testing was not conducted due to circumstances beyond our control, the work carried out up to the prototype stage provided strong technical validation. It also showcased how Engibex consultants can drive innovation in highly specialized domains, delivering practical and scalable solutions that are ready for further development.
Reflecting on his role, Lukas described the project as “an interesting crash course in automotive development” — highlighting both the technical challenges and the valuable learning experience it provided.
PERSONAL TAKEAWAYS
For Lukas, the project was more than just a technical challenge:
“If I had to sum it up in one sentence, I’d say it was an interesting crash course in automotive development.”
The experience gave him hands-on knowledge of integrating PCBs in vehicles, debugging firmware with minimal resources, and coordinating closely with multidisciplinary teams — all crucial skills for his future projects.
WHY ENGIBEX
This case study demonstrates how Engibex connects clients with specialized expertise exactly when it’s needed most. With Lukas, the client gained a one-stop solution for embedded electronics, allowing the team to push forward with innovation even in the absence of in-house know-how.
