Hybrid AM electric motor housing wins the mobility prize at the 3D Pioneers Challenge 2023
A team of Master's students and lecturers from pd|z was awarded in the category Mobility at the 3D Pioneers Challenge 2023 for their project Electric motors thought new - Hybrid AM electric motor housing with optimized cooling structure
The winners of the 2023 3D Pioneers Challenge (3DPC)'s mobility category are a mechanical engineering team of ETH Zurich's pd|z and inspire: Students Lorenzo Bono, Lea Kotthoff, Andrin Schmid, Sakin Sivakurunathar and Asbjorn Verlo, supervisors and lecturers Urs Hofmann, Johannes Vögerl and Julian Ferchow as well as Mirko Meboldt, professor for Product Development and Engineering Design. The team developed an electric motor housing with integrated cooling structures as part of the Design for Additive Manufacturing lecture 2022 at ETH.
The additively manufactured housing enables increased electric motor efficiency and lifetime. The electric car industry has experienced steady growth in recent years thanks to the reduced CO2 impact on the environment. By implementing a thermal management system for electric motors, it is possible to further increase their efficiency and extend their service life. The design freedom of additive manufacturing enables the optimization of such cooling structures.
The Jury stated that “This project has the potential to make a significant impact on the automotive industry through improved efficiency and sustainability. The collaboration between university and industry showcases the power of partnership in advancing technology for a better future.”
What is special about this component:
- The innovative electric motor housing has organically shaped internal cooling channels and better heat transfer via lattice structures filled with conductive liquid material.
- The improved efficiency and extended service life reduce environmental impact while enabling reduced downtime and increased productivity.
- The hybrid manufacturing solution limits the amount of post-processing required, reducing manufacturing costs compared to a fully AM part.
- The application of this motor housing is not limited to electric motors but can be transferred to many other motor applications to increase their efficiency.
The project Electric motors thought new - Hybrid AM electric motor housing with optimized cooling structure was a collaboration with Siemens' Markus Schwaben, Rolf Vollmer and Felizitas Heilmann resulting from the contact to Siemens after last year's victory at the 3DPC Challenge.
The prize, which was awarded in May 2023, is endowed with 2500 Euro prize money and a software package for 3 months from 3yourmind. The project was also presented at Rapid Tech, where the 3D Pioneers Challenge is hosted and received the "Special Mention" from Autodesk.
The 3D Pioneers Challenge 3DPC is an international design competition for additive manufacturing processes and future technologies and is considered the most important award in this field. The competition is primarily aimed at students, young professionals / start-ups and professionals who work in design or technical fields such as automotive, software, research, or the medical sector. The focus of this year's competition was Advanced Technologies to enable a sustainable tomorrow.
For more info please contact Urs Hofmann or Julian Ferchow
ETH Additive Manufacturing Course
The "Design for Additive Manufacturing" course will also be offered in the upcoming fall semester. The goal is to teach students the basics of additive manufacturing in a hands-on, project-based manner. Up to 20 students can participate. Divided into groups of five, the aim is to tackle real-world problems using additive manufacturing.