Automated Hairpin Conductor Insertion for Motor Stators
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing manual process of manufacturing motor stators and rotors using flat or square wire is labor-intensive and not suitable for mass production due to the need for hand-bending and interconnection of hairpin-shaped conductors, which is slow and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
An automated system that receives and inserts hairpin-shaped conductors into a fixture, twists them to form motor winding conductors, and uses a combination of pneumatic and servo-driven mechanisms to position and secure the conductors, allowing for efficient and automated assembly of motor stators and rotors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual hand-bending and hand-insertion of hairpin conductors is used, then manufacturing precision and flexibility are maintained, but productivity is low and labor intensity is high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual hand-bending and hand-insertion operations with automated mechanical systems. A wire bending machine automatically forms hairpin conductors from flat or square wire, and an automated insertion device places them into stator slots. This substitution of manual mechanical operations with automated machinery directly addresses the contradiction by dramatically increasing productivity while reducing labor intensity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-forming hairpin conductors in a separate automated bending operation before insertion. The wire is first bent into the hairpin shape with properly positioned legs and ends, then pre-coated with insulation. This pre-preparation allows the subsequent insertion process to be faster and more automated, resolving the productivity-labor intensity contradiction.
2Power
If flat or square wire is used for windings, then power-to-weight ratio is improved due to greater copper cross-section, but manufacturing complexity increases due to specialized wire handling requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by utilizing wire with specific cross-sectional geometries (flat or square) that optimize the copper filling factor in stator slots. The wire dimensions, shape, and insulation coating parameters are carefully selected and controlled to maximize power density while the automated manufacturing system handles the increased complexity of working with these specialized wire forms.
Data Source
AI summary
Method and apparatus for insertion of preformed rotor and stator conductors into a twisting machine for forming hairpin shaped conductors of rectangular wire into stator conductors. The method comprises providing a forming fixture having a plurality of pockets distributed in equal number in an even number of adjacent circles concentric with a center of the forming fixture, receiving hairpin conductors positioned side by side from a feeder and feeding the hairpins, one by one, into a hairpin insertion assembly oriented above the forming fixture so that the legs are side by side along a line passing through the center and disposed adjacent a pair of pockets in first and second adjacent circles, and with the forming fixture angularly indexed relative to the hairpin insertion assembly, pushing a hairpin conductor down so that the legs thereof extend into a respective pair of pockets, and indexing the forming fixture about the center to align an additional pair of pockets with a hairpin in the hairpin insertion assembly and repeating until the forming fixture is substantially populated with hairpin conductors.