Gripper Heat Storage for Stator Assembly Cooling
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Solution Overview
Problem
The assembly of stators for electrical machines, particularly in electrified and hybrid vehicles, faces challenges in achieving short assembly times due to the need for heating and cooling processes, which prolong the assembly process and require manual handling with thermally insulating gloves or slow cooling methods.
Innovation Solution
A method utilizing a gripper with a heat storage body to efficiently manage heat transfer during assembly steps, where the gripper contacts heated motor elements to dissipate heat and absorb it for subsequent use, allowing for direct heat transfer between elements, thereby reducing the energy required for heating and shortening assembly times.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the cooling cylinder is heated to expand for shrinking onto the stator core, then the fit of the cooling cylinder on the stator core is improved, but the assembly time is increased due to cooling requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The gripper serves as a thermal intermediary that absorbs excess heat from the cooling cylinder during the shrinking process. By making thermal contact with the heated cooling cylinder, the gripper acts as a heat sink that rapidly removes thermal energy, enabling faster cooling and reducing assembly time while maintaining the precision fit achieved through thermal expansion and contraction
Solution Approach 2:
The system discards excess thermal energy by transferring it to the gripper, which then recovers this thermal energy for subsequent heating operations. This thermal energy recovery mechanism reduces the overall energy input required for heating future cooling cylinders and accelerates the cooling phase, thereby reducing total assembly time
2Reliability
If manual handling with thermally insulating gloves is used, then safety is improved, but the assembly process becomes slower
Solution Approach 1:
The gripper is designed with integrated thermal management capabilities, serving itself as both the handling tool and the cooling mechanism. By incorporating the heat storage body directly into the gripper structure, the system eliminates the need for separate cooling equipment and operators wearing insulating gloves, thereby maintaining safety while significantly improving assembly speed
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical handling system (operators with insulating gloves) is replaced by an automated robotic gripper equipped with thermal management features. This substitution eliminates the limitations of manual dexterity and thermal protection equipment, enabling faster and safer handling of heated components through automated control
3Ease of operation
If cooling time is extended, then the stator can be further processed, but the overall production time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gripper is pre-equipped with heat storage bodies that are ready to immediately absorb thermal energy from the cooling cylinder as soon as contact is made. This preliminary preparation of the thermal management system eliminates delays that would otherwise be required to set up cooling equipment, enabling immediate cooling action and reducing the time needed to reach processable temperatures
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach significantly reduces assembly time by efficiently managing heat transfer, allowing for faster processing and assembly of stator components, such as shrinking cooling cylinders and stator housings, while minimizing energy consumption and enabling faster production of stators for electrical machines.
Implementation Method 1
the heated motor element is cooled by contacting the gripper with the motor element
Implementation Method 2
the heat of the gripper stored in method steps e) and f) is absorbed by the further second motor element
Implementation Method 3
heating the further second motor element by making contact with the gripper, in that the heat of the gripper stored in method steps e) and f) is absorbed by the further second motor element
Implementation Method 4
heating it to approx. 200 °C, so that it can expand and thus has a larger inner diameter than the stator's laminated core
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for manufacturing stators (1) for electrical machines from motor elements (1.1, 1.2, 1.3), in which the stator (1) is assembled from several motor elements (1.1, 1.2, 1.3) and in the assembly process at least one assembly step and/or machining step is carried out which requires the heating of a motor element (1.1, 1.2, 1.3), a gripper (10) designed with a heat storage element of a handling device (20) is provided, wherein the gripper (10) is designed with a contact surface (10.11, 10.21) for making contact with the heated motor element (1.1, 1.2, 1.3), and the heated motor element (1.1, 1.2, 1.3) is cooled by making contact of the gripper (10) with the motor element (1.1, 1.2, 1.3). Furthermore, the method relates to a handling device (20) with a gripper (10) having a heat storage body for cooling and heating motor elements (1.1, 1.2, 1.3).