Fast Agile Copper Turns and Robotic Magnet placement (FACTOREM)

This project will develop manufacturing processes and techniques that are optimised for low to medium volume production of electrical machines. Many processes used in large volume manufacture require significant capital investment that can never be recouped at lower volumes, and labour intensive, hand-made machines are too expensive to reach high volumes. To break this apparent deadlock a series of automated processes will be developed that will give significant cost reduction allowing many existing applications to reach their full potential. The three areas for focus are coil winding, magnet placement and rotor carbon fibre banding. These processes have been selected as they offer the largest potential for cost reduction and supply chain value as we migrate from more manual low volume techniques. The approach will use generic robotics with the application of innovative tooling and motion control software. One key feature of the approach is that the capital equipment can be deployed to different applications such that the volume of machines over which the up-front cost can be amortised is extended beyond a single application. Existing products in underwater autonomous vehicle propulsion and construction equipment as well as an emergent Urban Air Mobility (UAM) propulsion product will serve as control projects to ensure the processes can be applied across this range. The project will be undertaken by Magnomatics, GTR and Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), Centre for Winding Excellence. Magnomatics have a series of low-volume manufactured products and will bring their existing experience and techniques and end-user requirements. GTR are specialists in carbon fibre manufacture and will develop the rotor banding processes required to reach class leading performance from these materials. WMG will bring their coil winding expertise and leverage the significant investment in equipment at their facilities for process development and validation.