Max Kleine Büning

Return on engineering: Design to cost for electric engine production

Producing companies for electric traction engines used in electric cars are faced with new challenges as production volumes and market demands change frequently. Missing standards in the product and production development process itself increase the expenses for development and production of an electric engine. As 70% of the product costs are determined by the product development and still generated solutions do not meet the required project cost targets, the focus of electric engine companies needs to be shifted to the product and process development. Therefore, the Return on Engineering approach pursues the maxim of forcing the cost target particularly in the early stages of development. This paper presents an approach to structure the product and process development process by modularizing the production process following the product architecture of an electrical engine. Thereby, the producing companies have the opportunity to decrease product costs and shorten their development process. The approach is being clarified with the aid of an exemplary development process of an electric engine for small city-cars. Especially technology chains for component production as well as final assembly are considered.

Vorausschauende Instandhaltung durch Maschinelles Lernen in der Prozessindustrie

Kurzfassung Durch den Einfluss der Zuverlässigkeit der Instandhaltung auf die Produktionskosten und die Anlagenverfügbarkeit gewinnt die vorausschauende Instandhaltung als Evolution der präventiven Instandhaltung zunehmend an Bedeutung. In diesem Beitrag werden die Entwicklung, Funktionalität, Einsatz und Potenzial eines vorausschauenden Instandhaltungsmodells am Beispiel eines Großanlagenkompressors dargelegt. Das auf Machine Learning basierende Modell konnte erfolgreich in der Industrie validiert werden, indem kritische Veränderungen elektrischer Maschinen vor ihrem Eintreten vorhergesagt wurden.

Thin-walled injection molding for slot insulation of long stator sheet stacks

Incremental improvement of conventional traction drive technologies, product architectures, process chains and production technologies are nearly pushed to their limits. The small efforts out of extensive optimization endeavors do not lead into essential customer value any more, as efficiency cannot be increased recognizably and cost reductions vanish amongst overall drivetrain-, battery- and vehicle costs. Therefore, the introduction of new or the qualification of currently unsuited production technologies to the process chain in order to optimize efficiency, enhance functionality of components and reduce costs is an approach for holistic improvement of electric drive production. This paper presents a technology and tooling concept that enables the insulation of long stators by injection molding. Furthermore, the technological maturity and the economic and technological potential of the innovative thin-walled injection molding process as well as product implications are evaluated. It is shown, that the qualified production technology enables cost efficient production, enhances the functionality by improving the heat dissipation within the slots, widens the design possibilities of laminations and windings and is applicable for stator mass production.

Value Engineering im Anlagenbau: Investitionskostenoptimierung in der Elektromotorenproduktion

Kurzfassung Zulieferer elektromechanischer Komponenten sind durch immer kürzere Innovations- und Produktlebenszyklen sowie verschärfter Konkurrenz aus Fernost einem hohen Kostendruck ausgesetzt. Investitionskostenreduzierungen für Produktionsanlagen sind somit zur Behauptung der Marktposition unabdingbar. Dieser Beitrag präsentiert einen vom Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components der RWTH Aachen entwickelten Leitfaden, durch den die Investitionskosten in Produktionsanlagen systematisch aufgenommen, analysiert und optimiert werden.