April 2020

n TECHNOLOGY April 2020 www.drivesncontrols.com 20 AUK COMPANY is developing what it claims will be the world’s most power-dense permanent magnet electric motor. Norfolk- based Equipmake has teamed up with the Bristol-based additive manufacturing organisation HiEta Technologies to develop the next-generation motor with a target peak power density of at least 20kW/kg – more than four times that of a conventional motor. The project is being supported by a grant from the UK’s innovation funding body, Innovate UK. Codenamed Ampere, the newmotor will draw on Equipmake’s expertise in motor design and HiEta’s knowledge of thermal engineering and additive manufacturing to produce an efficient, but low-cost, electric motor with a peak power output of 220kW at 30,000rpm, and a weight of less than 10kg, giving it a peak power density of at least 20kW/kg. By comparison, today’s best permanent magnet motors struggle to exceed 5kW/kg. The first prototypes are due to be running within 12 months. The key to the motor’s performance is its combination of an advanced motor design with additive manufacturing, allowing its metal structure to be 3D printed, rather than milled from a solid billet. This brings many advantages. First, metal is put only where it is needed. Second, thermally efficient thin walls and optimised fine surface details can be combined with the motor’s structure, replacing multi-part assemblies with a single complex architecture said to have an “exceptional”cooling ability. The lightweight machine has a low inertia and allows for high rotational speeds. This approach not only reduces the amount of high-strength alloys needed in the motor’s construction, but also cuts the need for expensive active materials – the magnets – helping to keep costs down. Equipmake already produces one of the world’s most power-dense automotive electric motors which delivers a peak power of 125kW at 12,000rpm and weighs just 14kg, giving it power density of almost 9kW/kg. This motor uses a spoke architecture to maximise cooling. “Equipmake has made major leaps in electric motor performance in recent years with our APM range of advanced motors offering class-leading power densities thanks to their compact, lightweight designs,”says managing director, Ian Foley.“Additive manufacturing is the key to unlocking the next step change and we are delighted to be partnering with HiEta on Ampere. “This exciting project has the potential to totally change our concept of what an electric motor can offer – and with such a huge amount of performance in a such a small package, at as low a cost as possible, this motor is set to further revolutionise e-mobility, whether that’s in automotive or aerospace,”he continues.“We are grateful to Innovate UK for their support and are looking forward to getting the very first Ampere prototypes up and running very soon.” Andy Jones, HiEta’s innovation programme manager, adds that the newmotor“provides the opportunity to apply both HiEta’s thermal management expertise and complex, thin- walled structure manufacture, enabled by additive manufacture, to electric motor design to realise ambitious power densities. We typically reduce the size of thermal management components by five times compared with conventional techniques which will allow next-generation heat transfer features to be integrated into the rotor, stator and electronics cooling. At the end of last year, Equipmake opened a factory in Snetterton, Norfolk, where it designs, tests and manufactures products ranging from motors to complete electrified platforms for the automotive and aerospace sectors. These include an integrated electric bus chassis and motors for its EBus chassis. Four of these 220kW motors will also be used to power UK sportscar-maker Ariel’s planned Hipercar, which is expected to reach 60mph (96km/h) in 2.4 seconds, 150mph (241km/h) in 7.8s, and to hit a top speed of 160mph. https://equipmake.co.uk/ https://www.hieta.biz/ UK project aims to develop ‘world’s most power-dense PMmotor’ JAPAN’S AZBIL CORPORATION – previously known as Yamatake – has developed an adjustable proximity sensor with two outputs that allows you to configure and check settings remotely from a computer, thus saving the time usually needed to set up multiple sensors. Conventional proximity sensors have fixed operating points and output a single on/off signal. Azbil’s new Model H3C contains two sensors with different operating points, each of which can output a signal. By combining the on/off logic of each output, it can sense four areas. The operating points are configured automatically, based on the movement of the workpiece. Until now, some processes – such as automatic tool-changing in machine tools – needed two proximity sensors to detect whether a tool is present and whether the attachment position is correct. The new sensor achieves the same results with just one device. Conventional proximity sensors typically have a sensing distance of 1–10mm, and need a lot of work to set them up in a stable position for sensing. Moreover, there are often differences in how individual installers set up the sensor, which can result in a lack of stability. The new sensor’s dedicated configuration utility allows users to set its operating points easily and automatically from a computer, regardless of its position. This allows stable sensing to be achieved quickly, says Azbil. Proximity sensors usually incorporate LEDs to indicate their operating status, but because they are often installed inside machinery, checking their status can be tricky. With the new sensor, operators can monitor the status and the relative positioning of the operating points and workpiece from a computer. Azbil is hoping to sell around 4,500 of the new proximity sensors in the first year, rising to 45,000 after five years. www.azbil.com Equipmake and HiEta are using additive manufacturing to produce a permanent magnet motor that, they say, will be lighter, smaller andmore thermally efficient than conventional PMmachines Time-saving dual-output proximity sensor is set up from a PC