Project description
3D printing of high-performance torque motors
Additive manufacturing is rapidly developing into an important tool for manufacturing both flight safety-critical aircraft parts and non-critical flight parts. The EU-funded ADDIMOT project aims to investigate additive manufacturing techniques for designing and manufacturing a new generation of electrical torque motors for use in smart active inceptors. These flight safety-critical systems are the controls that pilots use to direct and manoeuvre the aircraft. These new generation of motors is expected to demonstrate better performance than traditional manufacturing techniques in terms of weight, power consumption, torque density, cost and compactness.
Objective
The main objective of ADDIMOT project is to investigate additive manufacturing (AM) technologies to design, and manufacture a new generation of electrical torque motors for their application in Smart Active Inceptors (SAIs). This new generation of motors shall demonstrate better performance than the traditional solution in terms of weight, power consumption, torque density, cost and compactness of the design.
For this purpose, this main objective splits into the following technical objectives:
• Investigation on the most suitable materials for additive manufacturing of electric motors, attending to soft and hard magnetic, electrical, mechanical and thermal properties.
• Electromagnetic and mechanical design of the active parts of electric motors for smart active inceptors, mixing different materials and looking into new 3D geometries enabled by AM technology.
• Comparison of new concepts of active components enabled by AM with traditionally manufactured parts. Evaluation of electric motor concepts using fully AMed parts, fully traditional manufacturing and hybrid (AM + traditional) manufacturing.
• Electromagnetic and mechanical topology optimization of the evaluated electric motor concepts, in terms of weight, power consumption, torque density, cost and compactness of the design.
• Development of manufacturing criteria for the AM of electric motor components.
• Design and manufacture of three electric motor demonstrators using AM technology
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
CS2-IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
20018 San Sebastian
Spain