Pre-COMVEC Technical Dine & Learn

Join Us for the Pre COMVEC Technical Dine & Learn!

Join this special Pre‑COMVEC Technical Dine & Learn for an informal evening focused on powertrain and vehicle technologies for military and defense applications. Now in its fifth year, this established pre‑COMVEC event jointly organized by the SAE Chicago Section and the SAE COMVEC Powertrain Technical Committee brings together engineers, leaders, and innovators for candid discussion and shared learning across the commercial vehicle and defense communities. You’ll exchange ideas, build relationships, listen to technical talks and help elevate Defense as the third core pillar of COMVEC, an area that has seen limited technical visibility in recent years but is increasingly critical to the future of the industry.

This year, the Pre‑COMVEC Defense Dinner will take place on the evening of September 28, the day before COMVEC begins, at the Wojcik Conference Center on the campus of Harper College in Palatine, Illinois, located approximately 10 minutes from the conference hotel. The pre-COMVEC Defense Dinner will be jointly sponsored by Parker-Hannifin and FEV North America.

Technical Presentations from Michigan Tech, Parker Hannifin, and FEV

Michigan Technological University

As power requirements continue to expand for critical battlefield systems, there is an increasing need for electrical power generation. The Vehicle Integrated Performance Kit (VIPK) enables mobile power generation on existing vehicle platforms, reducing reliance on conventional generators while providing power-on-the-move capability. Through a competitively awarded project funded by the Defense Innovation Unit, Michigan Technological University (MTU) designed, engineered, integrated, and tested a VIPK solution that is compatible with six variants of the U.S. Army’s Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles A2 (FMTV A2). The MTU VIPK provides up to 120 kW of Tactical Microgrid Standard (TMS) compliant 600 VDC and 60 kW of 208/120 VAC stationary power export, along with 30 kW of 600 VDC and 30 kW of 208/120 3-phase VAC power-on-the-move capability, all without high-voltage energy storage. MTU is currently undergoing experimental testing to validate the MTU VIPK’s performance.

Parker Hannifin Corporation

Steer by Wire and Brake by Wire is gaining momentum in the off-road machinery market. As machine builders continue to adopt automated and semi-autonomous functions to improve the productivity of their machines, steering systems are being re-envisioned. The transition from traditional hydraulic steering systems with electric valves in parallel to full steer by wire can unlock features that allow autonomous and automated productivity to augment manual steering in ways that provide feedback and guidance to the machine operator, enhancing productivity and performance. What is most important during this transition is that steering reliability and safety is maintained or improved.

FEV

Modern military vehicles are evolving into highly integrated, software-defined systems where propulsion, high-voltage power, autonomy, drive-by-wire, mission systems and vehicle electronics must function as a single, cohesive architecture. As complexity increases, traditional hardware-first development approaches struggle to keep pace with compressed schedules, evolving requirements and the need to reduce program risk.

This presentation explores how System Integration Labs (SILs) are transforming the way advanced defense platforms are engineered, verified and matured long before prototype vehicles are available. Drawing on real-world defense programs, it will demonstrate how virtual integration, hardware-in-the-loop testing, digital twins and representative vehicle architectures enable engineering teams to identify integration issues earlier, accelerate software development, improve subsystem interoperability and increase confidence prior to vehicle build.

Attendees will gain practical insight into how modern SIL environments are being applied to de-risk next-generation military vehicle development, support open architectures, enable rapid capability insertion and shorten the path from concept to operational capability.

This event qualifies for 1 professional development hour (PDH)