Getting a motor to spin on the bench is easy. Building a drive system that survives production, field use and updates for years is something else. This maturity model shows the key steps from “it works in my lab” to “we ship and maintain this across a fleet”.
What this maturity model is (and is not)
- It is a practical checklist for electric drive systems: power stage, motor, control firmware and mechanics.
- It is not tied to a single MCU – but many examples assume STM32-based motor control.
- It is designed for teams moving from prototype to pre-series and series, not for academic demos.
If you are deep in firmware topics like FOC tuning or safe updates, you can connect this model with our pages on drive systems, engineering & firmware and complete product development services.
Level 0 – Lab prototype: “It spins on my desk”
At Level 0, the goal is simple: prove that the basic concept can work. Typical characteristics:
- Evaluation boards, lab power supplies and open wiring on the bench.
- FOC or other control running with minimal protection and limited operating range.
- Manual tests, often controlled by scripts or a debug GUI.
- No clear separation between experimental and “product-like” firmware.
This phase is fine for learning and fast iteration – as long as everyone agrees that nothing here is production-grade yet.
Level 1 – Engineered prototype: from experiment to system
At Level 1 you still work with prototypes, but you start treating the drive as a system: electronics, firmware, mechanics and test environment.
- Custom or semi-custom power stage and motor selection instead of generic eval kits.
- Basic but structured firmware architecture:
- FOC or control core with clear timing concept (TIM, ADC, DMA, CPU load).
- Configuration separated from code, first steps towards parameter management.
- Basic protection: overcurrent, over-/undervoltage, thermal limits.
- Defined lab tests (start-up, low speed, nominal speed, step loads).
- First thoughts on packaging and mounting in the future product.
Typical work here includes STM32 real-time optimisation, control loop integration and start-up & low-speed tuning.
Level 2 – Pre-series drive: robustness and variation
Level 2 is where you stop optimising for “best demo” and start optimising for repeatable behaviour across units and conditions.
- Electronics designed with manufacturability in mind: tolerances, alternative components, thermal design.
- Drive firmware split into clearly defined modules (motor control, safety, communications, update/bootloader).
- Protection and fault handling treated as first-class features, not afterthoughts.
- Mechanical integration: enclosures, mounting, cooling, cable routing.
- Systematic tests over temperature, supply variation and realistic load profiles.
This is also the time to think about updates and recovery: dual-slot and rollback strategies, secure boot and service workflows; these tie directly into your firmware architecture.
Quick overview – what changes with each level?
| Level | Focus | Main question |
|---|---|---|
| 0 – Lab prototype | Feasibility | Can we make this motor and concept work at all? |
| 1 – Engineered prototype | Basic system | Can we control this reliably on our own hardware? |
| 2 – Pre-series | Robustness | Does it behave predictably across units and conditions? |
| 3 – Series-ready | Validation | Do we trust this to ship in volume? |
| 4 – Fleet & lifecycle | Operation | Can we operate, update and diagnose a fleet efficiently? |
Level 3 – Series-ready drive system
Level 3 is where you can say “this is ready for series” with a straight face. The drive is part of a product with requirements, traceability and defined responsibilities.
- Requirements traceability from system level down to drive functions and tests.
- Production test concepts for inverter boards, assembled drives and complete systems.
- Documented parameter sets and tuning for each motor and variant.
- Verified protection and fault handling, including negative tests and corner cases.
- Mechanical validation: vibration, shock, drop tests, thermal cycling and lifetime aspects.
On the mechanical side, this often includes drop test & enclosure simulation, mechanical CAD design and fatigue life prediction to ensure the drive can survive real use.
Level 4 – Fleet and lifecycle: beyond “start of production”
After SOP the work does not stop. Level 4 is about living with the drive system in the field:
- Controlled firmware updates, including secure boot, rollback and clear release processes.
- Diagnostics and logging that support service, not just development.
- Field data feeding back into design: failure analysis, usage profiles, improvement cycles.
- Variants and derivatives managed so that changes don’t silently break drive behaviour.
For STM32-based drives this is where topics like remote testing & consulting, OTA or service-tool updates and long-term parameter management become central.
Where external support usually has the biggest impact
- Level 0 → 1: turning a fragile lab prototype into a structured control platform.
- Level 1 → 2: getting real robustness: FOC tuning, protection concepts, mechanical integration.
- Level 2 → 3: defining validation, production tests and documentation for series release.
- Level 3 → 4: adding secure updates, diagnostics and processes around a growing fleet.
We usually connect these transitions with focused tracks on drive systems, firmware & control and overall product development.
Maturity checklist – where are you today?
You don’t have to hit every item to move forward, but this checklist helps to see where your current drive project sits.
| Area | Question | Level 0–4 |
|---|---|---|
| Control firmware | Is there a clear timing concept, parameter management and defined update path? | |
| Motor & power stage | Have you characterised behaviour across tolerances, temperature and load? | |
| Protection & safety | Are protection functions specified, implemented and tested systematically? | |
| Mechanics | Is the drive integrated in an enclosure and mounting concept tested for real-world loads? | |
| Testing | Do you have repeatable test cases and production tests beyond ad-hoc lab work? | |
| Lifecycle | Can you update, diagnose and improve drives once they are in the field? |
FAQ: Maturity of electric drive systems
Do we always need to reach Level 4?
Not necessarily. For some low-volume or static products, Level 2 or 3 with a simple service concept is enough. The model is a tool to make conscious trade-offs – not a rule that everyone must follow to the end.
Where do FOC tuning and protection fit into this?
They are part of the “control firmware” and “protection & safety” areas. Typically, serious FOC tuning and protection concepts start in Level 1 and are hardened in Level 2 and 3.
Can we skip directly from a lab prototype to series?
In practice, skipping levels usually means that Level 2 and Level 3 work happens under time pressure late in the project – as “firefighting” during validation and early customer feedback. Using the maturity model mainly helps to bring this work forward and make it deliberate.
How does this map to our internal processes (V-model, Agile, Stage-Gate)?
The maturity levels are orthogonal to your process. You can apply them inside a V-model, Agile or Stage-Gate setup. They simply describe how “grown up” the drive system itself is, independent of how you organise your teams.
Next steps if you want to move up a level
If you recognise your current project in one of the lower levels and want to move towards a series-ready drive, it often helps to focus on a few high-leverage topics instead of trying to “fix everything”.
Typical starting points include:
- A short review of your current drive architecture and maturity level.
- Defining a concrete target level for the next product phase (e.g. “reach Level 2 for pilot customers”).
- Planning focused work packages: FOC tuning, protection, mechanical validation, update concept.
You can reach us via the contact page or through engineering & firmware consulting and the overview on drive systems.
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