Fri, 15 Nov 2019 ID.3 marks the beginning of a new era of...

Fri, 15 Nov 2019 ID.3 marks the beginning of a new era of electrified mobility for the Volkswagen brand. Its electric motor, based on the Modular E-Drive Construction Kit (MEB), is produced by Volkswagen Group Components. Compared to a conventional petrol or diesel engine, it is less complex and so compact that it fits in a sports bag. But how does the electric drive, which VW manufactures at the components location in Kassel, work?Components of an electric drive systemIn each electric motor there is a fixed stator and a rotor rotating in it. The stator consists of copper wire coils. If electric current flows through these coils, a rotating magnetic field is created in the stator which causes the rotor to rotate. The rotary motion is based on a simple physical principle: poles of magnets of different names attract each other, while poles of the same name repel each other.There are also two types of electric drives: Permanently excited synchronous machines and asynchronous machines. The permanently excited synchronous machine is characterized by a strong permanent magnet as a rotor, which runs synchronously with the magnetic field of the stator. In asynchronous machines, on the other hand, the rotor itself is magnetized by means of a current supply and therefore follows the magnetic field of the stator.Hairpin technology and consistent lightweight constructionThe new ID.3 from Volkswagen contains the electric drive with the designation "APP 310". This is a permanent magnet synchronous machine. The "APP" designation is used to determine the axially parallel arrangement of the drive and gearbox, and the supplemented sequence of digits is used to determine the maximum torque of 310 Nm. The essential components for this drive are produced in a mix of specialisation and composite production at various Volkswagen Group Components production sites.The rotor and stator are produced at the Salzgitter components plant. An innovative manufacturing process, the new Hairpin technology, is used to build the stator. The spaces within the stator's sheet metal package are optimally filled with flat shaped copper coils. Compared to a drive with wound copper wire coils, this increases the torque density and efficiency of the electric drive. The maximum torque is already present at low speeds, so that the use of a so-called 1-speed gearbox is sufficient for the entire speed range.Both the electric drive and the 1-speed transmission are produced at the Kassel components plant. The complete drive unit, including the 1-speed transmission, is so compact that it fits into a sports bag. The drive weighs only around 90 kg and has a peak output of up to 150 kW (204 PS) in the ID.3.The electric motors for MEB vehicles for Europe and North America will be produced in Kassel in the future. Up to 500,000 units per year are planned. Kassel is also cooperating closely with the Chinese plant in Tianjin, where the electric drive for the Chinese market is produced in parallel. Together, the two plants will produce up to 1.4 million electric drives per year from 2023. This will make Volkswagen Group Components one of the world's largest manufacturers of electric drives for vehicles.Source: Volkswagen - Press release of 14.11.2019Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator