A new manufacturing method builds electric motor windings layer by layer, like a 3D printer, to create copper conductors with complex shapes impossible to achieve through conventional wire-drawing techniques. Today’s electric motors and generators—used in everything from electric cars to aircraft—are limited by heat. The copper windings inside them generate waste heat that is difficult to remove, capping power density at 2–5 kW/kg. Industry roadmaps demand 9–25 kW/kg by 2035 to make all-electric flight and heavy transport viable. The fundamental bottleneck is a century-old manufacturing process that has barely changed. This project, called The Electrical Machine Works, combines metal additive manufacturing with new multi-physics design tools to simultaneously reduce electrical losses, improve heat extraction, and allow higher operating temperatures. If successful, the approach could push power density well beyond current targets, directly enabling lighter, more efficient motors for electric vehicles and aircraft. That would cut transport emissions without requiring heavier batteries or larger engines—a quiet but critical step toward the UK’s 2050 net-zero goal.
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Step changes in electrical machine (e-machine) performance are central to the success of future More-Electric and All-Electric transport initiatives and play a vital role in meeting the UK's Net Zero Emission target by 2050. E-machine technology roadmaps from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) and Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) seek continuous power-density of between 9 and 25 kW/kg by 2035, in stark contrast to the 2-5 kW/kg available today. E-machine power-density is ultimately limited by the ability to dissipate internally generated losses, which manifest as heat, and the temperature rating of the electrical insulation system. The electrical conductors, referred to as windings, are often the dominant loss source and are conventionally formed from electrically insulated copper or aluminium conductors. Such conductors are manufactured using a drawing and insulation technique, which aside from improvements in materials, has seen little change in the past century. Exploring alternative manufacturing methods could allow reduction in losses, enhanced heat extraction and facilitate increased temperature ratings, ushering the necessary step changes in power-density and e-machine performance. Metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a process in which material is selectively bonded layer by layer to ultimately form a 3D part, enabling complex parts to be produced which may not be feasible using conventional methods. The design freedom offered by AM provides much sought-after opportunities to simultaneously reduce winding losses and packaging volume, improve thermal management and enable the use of high-temperature electrical insulation coatings. The design of such windings requires the development of new multi-physics design tools accounting for electromagnetic, thermo- and fluid- dynamics, mechanical and Design for AM (DfAM) aspects. It is important to have an understanding of the AM process, including the resulting material properties of parts and limitations on feature sizes and geometry in order to fully exploit the design freedoms whilst ensuring manufacturing feasibility. Establishing how to use build-supports and post-processes to improve component surface quality and facilitate application of electrical insulation coatings is another important aspect. To this end, I conducted initial studies in collaboration with academic and industrial partners focusing on shaped profile windings which have demonstrated the potential benefits of metal AM in e-machines and the drastic expansion of design possibilities to be explored. In the first period of this 4 + 3 year fellowship I established The Electrical Machine Works, an ambitious and comprehensive research programme reminiscent of a Skunk Works project which draws together UK industry and academic expertise in AM, material science and multi-physics e-machine design to form an internationally leading platform in this important emerging field. The fellowship and associated platform, The Electrical Machine Works, facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration with both industry and academia, catalysing high quality academic outputs disseminated through appropriate conference and journal publications, and the generation of Intellectual Property (IP), helping to keep the UK competitive in Power Electronics Machines and Drives (PEMD) and at the forefront of this area. The 3 year renewal period will be critical in allowing me dedicated time to narrow the activity delivered in the first 4 years and deliver a programme focused on high-potential winding technologies in order to develop deep understanding of their design, manufacturing, scalability for industry adoption, and real-world performance. This will make meaningful strides toward exceeding the APC and ATI power-density targets which will have a direct impact on our ability to decarbonise transport.
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