Industrialisation of Magtec Motor Production for OEM Volume Demand

This collaborative R&D project will demonstrate the development of production technologies for traction motor production. This will enable production scale-up of motors produced by Magnetic Systems Technology (Magtec), a leading UK supplier servicing the commercial vehicles market.

Magtec's electrification solution can be fitted as original equipment or as a retrofit/repower solution for fleets of commercial vehicles (buses/trucks etc.). The project will directly address both issues by providing the electric alternatives to diesel power solutions, at required volumes, with demonstrable operational reliability.

The project accelerates innovative production technologies at Magtec, with the motor manufacturing pilot line being the focus area. The forecast for growth (post project completion) represents an order of magnitude increase in production demand over the following 5 years. This is driving the need to accelerate the development and delivery of innovative and bespoke manufacturing processes and assembly methods.

The project consortia led by Magtec includes four leading transport sector OEM's - Dennis Eagle, Paneltex, Volta Trucks and Angel Trains. These partners will support the definition of requirements and verification of the solutions developed within this project, ensuring the manufacturing processes and approach, are repeatable and robust, and therefore delivering reliable products to their respective markets.

It includes two High Value Manufacturing Catapults -- the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) at the University of Sheffield, whose expertise will be focused on utilising the most innovative manufacturing process and assembly methods development activities. This will cover the integration of data and information systems and embedded quality assurance methods, to ensure robustness and repeatability throughout.

Magtec sources most of its components and materials from the UK, with a large proportion of these within a short distance from its Sheffield assembly facility. The project will become a catalyst to reduce risk in the supply-chain proposition by developing deep relationships, predominantly in the region, to maximise the UK value-added content accordingly. Forecast supply and production requirements have created supply-chain resilience challenges, which shall be addressed through the project.

Skills development within all partners and the wider supply-chain will be core, as partners move towards electrified propulsion systems at a vehicle level, and automated/semi-automated processes within the value stream.