INFINITE Project concludes with successful development of new insulation system for stators 

INFINITE Project concludes with successful development of new insulation system for stators 

The INFINITE project, which was funded by the AIF project GmbH as promoter of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy within the Forschungsvereinigung Räumliche Elektronische Baugruppen 3-D MID e.V. and the iGF in the project “Integrative Fertigung von Isolationssystemen im Elektromaschinenbau (INFINITE),” has concluded with exciting results. The project aimed to define a strategy for the reproducible production of the insulation of stators in thermoset injection molding.

One of the main findings of the project is the successful development of a new technology for manufacturing secondary insulation of stators. The project team considered the manufacturing chain from the production of the material and the inserts to subsequent component properties to define a strategy for the insulation of stators in thermoset injection molding. The team demonstrated that it is possible to manufacture the insulation of stators in thermoset injection molding and that the process can be reduced to an insulation step without integrating a groove base paper.

The project faced challenges in filling small flow gaps of up to less than 0.7 mm over a length of 170 mm. Extensive investigations were carried out on single groove test specimens to derive a process window for production, taking into account process parameters and the groove base geometry. The limited possibilities in the field of thermoset simulation, especially for filled systems, considerably restricted the options for process design. However, the experimentally determined process window was traced back to the analytically recorded material behavior, among other things, which means that the process window is generally valid and can also be transferred to other, modified systems.

The project team defined a sufficiently large process window to ensure a stable and robust process by conducting extensive material characterization to derive the essential and necessary material characteristics for the production. Various sealing strategies were also considered on the tool technology side to enable a defined manufacturing process. Furthermore, the project findings were successfully transferred to the production of statorettes as a quadrant of a stator.

The IGF project 21451 N of the Research Association for Spatial Electronic Assemblies was funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection via the AiF within the framework of the program for the promotion of joint industrial research and development (IGF) on the basis of a resolution of the German Bundestag. The project monitoring committee, which comprised of companies such as Duresco GmbH, KraussMaffei Group, Quarzwerke, HPF the mineral engineers, Raschig GmbH, RF-Plast GmbH, Stiefelmayer GmbH & Co. KG, Valeo eAutomotive Germany GmbH (Siemens), and Wunder Formenbau Kunststofftechnik, provided valuable support and advice to the project team through numerous discussions. The project team would also like to thank the material manufacturers Raschig GmbH and Duresco GmbH for providing the material and for the technical exchange. The company RF-Plast adapted the mold for the production of the demonstrator, and Schwarz Plastic Solutions provided a pilot plant for the production of the demonstrators.

The INFINITE project has not only contributed to the development of a new technology for manufacturing secondary insulation of stators but has also demonstrated the importance of extensive material characterization and the consideration of various sealing strategies on the tool technology side to ensure a stable and robust process. The project findings can be transferred to other, modified systems, and will pave the way for future research in this field.

Category: news, project keywords: 3-D MID, AiF, IGF, INFINITE, project