Multi-Physic Design of Ultra-Efficient Smart Motor Enabled by Additive Manufacturing

With the significantly growing demand for electric vehicles and more electric aircrafts, pure electric drive systems will be used as an alternative to internal combustion engines. For this target, a more-flexible production process is required in the short term. Lightweight electrical machines with high power density are emerging as feasible solution to combine between high performance and lower environmental impact.
Metal additive manufacturing (AM) has been growing remarkably in the past few years. Thanks to the advantages of unmatched flexibility and zero material waste, this clean technology opens the door for new design solutions with greater material efficiency, which are not possible through conventional machining techniques. With the ultimate freedom in geometry, AM enables new possibilities in the design of electrical machines. This includes the 3D printing of passive parts such as housing, rotor shaft, bearings, and heat exchangers for direct cooling inside slots. This also has extended to the 3D printing of active parts such as the core and the windings.
In this study, the main focus is on AM for electrical machines, combining light-weight material with high electromagnetic performance especially at high operating frequencies. This is very interesting for the automation industry, since there is a trend to go to high speeds and high numbers of poles, leading to high frequencies.