Lightweight tools for e-mobility
Kennametal's 3D-printed stator bore tool weighs about half that of the conventionally manufactured version.
Machinists can realize ease of handling and energy efficiencies when producing components for e-mobility applications with Latrobe, Pennsylvania-based Kennametal Inc.’s 3D-printed, lightweight stator bore tool. It is for machining the stator bore of hybrid and electric engine housings.
“In the housing itself, all components of the engine, such as stator, rotor and bearings, are fitted in,” said Ingo Grillenberger, technical program manager of e-mobility for Fürth, Germany-based Kennametal GmbH’s Solutions Engineering Group. “For the final performance and efficiency of the electric engine, it is very important that all these components are aligned perfectly and they are concentric.”
E-mobility components typically are machined on small, low-horsepower CNC machine tools that require lightweight cutting tools. Kennametal’s 3D-printed stator bore tool weighs about half that of the conventionally manufactured version while still meeting requirements for accuracy, roundness and surface finish when boring aluminum.
For more information about Kennametal’s 3D-printed stator bore tool, view a video presentation at www.ctemag.com
Two versions of the tool were built: one with a carbon fiber tube and the other using a 3D-printed metal tube. The tool with the 3D-printed tube weighs 10.7 kg (23.6 lbs.), and the carbon fiber version weighs 9.5 kg (20.9 lbs.).
The tool’s reduced weight is significant because the resulting lower tilting moment makes it easier for machinists to maneuver the tool, and the resulting lower moment of inertia reduces not only wear on machine components but energy consumption.
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