ExOne, Maxxwell Motors Successfully Binder Jet 3D Print Copper Winding for Electric Drive
Unique copper e-winding design for its axial flux electric motors can be used in electric cars as well as a range of other heavy-duty vehicles and industrial devices.
Share
ExOne and Maxxwell have successfully proved out a new concept for binder jet 3D printing a high-efficiency design in copper that eliminates many of the challenges that come with traditional manufacturing.
The ExOne Co., a global provider of industrial sand and metal 3D printers using binder jetting technology, is collaborating with Tennessee-based startup Maxxwell Motors on development of a unique copper e-winding design for its axial flux electric motors, which can be used in electric cars as well as a range of other heavy-duty vehicles and industrial devices.
Founded in 2018 based on a vision of improving how electric motors are designed and manufactured without using rare earth magnets, Maxxwell holds nine U.S and global patents. It has also launched two products — a 10 kW air-cooled motor generator and a 150 kW liquid-cooled motor.
The company is led by the team of Chairman Gary Wells, a former CEO and current board member of Wells Dairy (maker of Blue Bunny and other ice cream brands), and CEO Michael Paritee, a former General Motors executive who managed several advanced vehicle programs and has guided technology firms for more than a decade.
Optimized copper windings and rotors in electric motors are among the factors enabling the automotive industry’s transition to hybrid and pure electric power vehicles. However, current methods of manufacturing the windings are costly, inefficient and limit designs in a way that also limits their performance, the company says.
ExOne and Maxxwell have successfully proved out a new concept for binder jet 3D printing a high-efficiency design in copper that eliminates many of the challenges that come with traditional manufacturing. Additional development and testing are now underway.
“When we 3D print it, a lot of the challenges just go away, and we can actually improve the performance of the motor itself,” Paritee says. “At Maxxwell, we’re taking the most sustainable and additive manufacturing point of view as possible to truly improve efficiency, reduce waste and optimize performance.”
Ultimately, Maxxwell’s goal is to binder jet 3D print winding assemblies as a monolithic piece, eliminating the need for coil wrapping, bending, tooling and welding of individual parts together.
Related Content
-
Multimodal Powders Bring Uniform Layers, Downstream Benefits for Metal Additive Manufacturing
A blend of particle sizes is the key to Uniformity Labs’ powders for 3D printing. The multimodal materials make greater use of the output from gas atomization while bringing productivity advantages to laser powder bed fusion and, increasingly, binder jetting.
-
Desktop Metal X-Series for Metal, Ceramics Additive Manufacturing
The X-Series is said to offer a differentiated approach to binder jetting enabled by Triple ACT — an advanced compaction technology for dispensing, spreading and compacting powders during the binder jet printing process.
-
AM 101: What Is Binder Jetting? (Includes Video)
Binder jetting requires no support structures, is accurate and repeatable, and is said to eliminate dimensional distortion problems common in some high-heat 3D technologies. Here is a look at how binder jetting works and its benefits for additive manufacturing.