Collaborative R&D Competitions

Ford Motor Group: Leveraging digital technology to create advanced manufacturing capabilities for e-motors   

Delivering the UK’s first prototype line for high-volume e-motor core production

Project e-Steel aims to revolutionise the production of electric motor stators and rotors, establishing the UK’s first prototype line for high-volume, e-motor core production and enabling continued exploration into innovative stamping and lamination approaches for e-motor laminated components.

This unique manufacturing line will leverage the latest advancements in digital technology, including Digital Twin and Computer Aided Engineering (CAE), to enable virtual testing and the optimisation of manufacturing processes. By utilising these advanced technologies, Project e-Steel aims to significantly reduce costs and the development time typically associated with physical trials, enhancing efficiency and ensuring Right-First-Time production of e-motor cores.

Key highlights

  • Development of a new e-sheet core product design to fit multiple Ford vehicle powertrains, which has been designed for manufacture
  • Creating new methods of adhesive deposition, joining, and stacking.
  • Adaptation of an existing UK low-volume manufacturing process for e-sheet cores to accommodate a new product design and significantly higher production volumes
  • Establishment of a pilot line at Ford to prove out the production of the new product design and de-risk scale-up production
  • Generating a test bed to validate and measure the tooling design and life cycle.
  • Development of a digital ‘omniverse’ environment that both integrates product process and facility design updates as part of one connected model during the development phase and also serves as the basis for a production line digital twin for optimising OEE during the operational phase
  • Development of sustainability solutions for the developed product and process to tackle manufacturing waste, rework processes, and end-of-life recovery. 

 Project consortium 

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