EM8 - FutureM

Efficient electrical machines (EM) are key components for electromobility. Additive manufacturing of components for electric machines enables completely new design possibilities for the design of novel motor technologies that can conventionally only be manufactured at great expense. This opens up new opportunities to optimize EM in terms of efficiency, size, power and torque, or to realize completely new architectures and designs. Existing limitations of additively manufactured soft magnets are overcome here by topology optimization and multi-material design.

Aim, benefit and approach

The project investigates new design possibilities in the design and optimization process of electrical machines, which can be significantly achieved by means of additive and subtractive manufacturing methods through the simultaneous production of different active materials. The vision is a comprehensive freedom of arrangement of all active materials.

Specifically, this includes hard or soft magnetic, electrically conductive or insulating, as well as components to meet structural, magnetic, electrical and thermal requirements. By eliminating the restrictions of classical manufacturing concepts, efficiency can be increased and the use of materials optimized, among other things.

In the project, initial methodological approaches will be investigated and different sample bodies in multi-material design will be designed and measured according to a building block principle.