In the field of electric vehicles, it has higher technical requirements on the casting process when the aluminum alloy is used for electric motor housings. It needs to be light, rugged, durable and economically viable. EMP Tech Co., Ltd. has studied the casting aluminum alloy material and the corresponding manufacturing process for the electric motor housings of hybrid and pure electric vehicles.
1. The integrated design of drive motor
In the context of increasingly strict requirements for CO2 emissions and fuel consumption, the development of new energy vehicles has also promoted the development of drivers. From hybrid vehicles to plug-in hybrid vehicles to pure electric vehicles, drive motors have developed multiple types of products at every stage. Early hybrid vehicles were modified from petrol-powered vehicles, and their drive motors have multiple components and low integration. With the development of motor technology, drive motors with simple structure, fewer components and high integration are favored.
Integrated design solutions have manufacturing advantages because they reduce manufacturing costs by eliminating critical interfaces. They can also achieve weight loss and performance improvements. The cooling channel of the motor can be formed directly during casting, which has a larger space for design and optimization. Because of the complex casting structure, the casting process of aluminum electric motor housing mostly adopts CPS or gravity casting.
2. The design of cooling channel
The design of the aluminum electric motor housing and cooling channel is critical to the operation of the motor drive, while optimizing the channel design can also improve the cost-effectiveness. The design and optimization are usually realized through simulation analysis.
The complex geometry (serpentine or spiral) of the cooling channel presents challenges in the production of the housing for integrated electronic equipment. With the help of fluid dynamics (CFD) calculation, the best scheme is studied. CFD simulation has the advantage of shortening the development time.