Search results

VAC wins innovation award in two categories

VACUUMSCHMELZE (VAC) has been awarded the "Innovator of the Year" award by the trade magazine "Design & Elektronik" in two different categories with two products at the same time.

In the passive components category, VACUUMSCHMELZE received first place for its VACODUR^® 49 cobalt-iron alloy. This alloy is used for laminations in stator systems and finds its application in electric drives. VACODUR 49 demonstrates its superior characteristics particularly in aerospace applications: Improved flux control can increase power density by 30%. As a result, torque and maximum power can be increased or volume and weight can be reduced. Therefore electric motors with significantly more power can be realized.

With its most compact high-current sensor for DC and AC rated currents over 1,000 A, VAC also made it to first place in the measurement technology category. This ultra-compact high-current sensor delivers high measurement accuracy for a rated current of 1,700 A. At an ambient temperature of 20°C, this generation of high current sensors enables a measuring range I_{P, max} above 3,400 A. At lower rated currents, this measuring range increases again. A maximum measuring error of 0.5% is therefore guaranteed over the entire measuring and temperature range. In addition, this high current sensor is the first with a MOSFET class D output stage, which enables a higher compensation current with lower power dissipation.

In many applications, more favorable and compact solutions are now possible. It is now also possible to replace an oversized current sensor with 2,000 A rated current with the VAC solution.

Image source: Andreas Juranits/WEKA Fachmedien

VAC wins innovation award in two categories

VACUUMSCHMELZE (VAC) has been awarded the "Innovator of the Year" award by the trade magazine "Design & Elektronik" in two different categories with two products at the same time.

In the passive components category, VACUUMSCHMELZE received first place for its VACODUR^® 49 cobalt-iron alloy. This alloy is used for laminations in stator systems and finds its application in electric drives. VACODUR 49 demonstrates its superior characteristics particularly in aerospace applications: Improved flux control can increase power density by 30%. As a result, torque and maximum power can be increased or volume and weight can be reduced. Therefore electric motors with significantly more power can be realized.

With its most compact high-current sensor for DC and AC rated currents over 1,000 A, VAC also made it to first place in the measurement technology category. This ultra-compact high-current sensor delivers high measurement accuracy for a rated current of 1,700 A. At an ambient temperature of 20°C, this generation of high current sensors enables a measuring range I_{P, max} above 3,400 A. At lower rated currents, this measuring range increases again. A maximum measuring error of 0.5% is therefore guaranteed over the entire measuring and temperature range. In addition, this high current sensor is the first with a MOSFET class D output stage, which enables a higher compensation current with lower power dissipation.

In many applications, more favorable and compact solutions are now possible. It is now also possible to replace an oversized current sensor with 2,000 A rated current with the VAC solution.

Image source: Andreas Juranits/WEKA Fachmedien

Racing cars with VACUUUMSCHMELZE technology assert themselves

Black and white chequered flag for VACUUMSCHMELZE (VAC): From energy recovery to complete electric drives, versatile electric motors are  decisive  for  victory  or  defeat  in state-of-the-art racing. High-quality magnetic materials are required for the highest possible power density and efficiency. As VAC's core competence, they are its proverbial  profitable contribution to Formula 1, Formula E, the WEC (World Endurance Championship) to which the Le Mans racing series belongs, or the Formula Student Electric. VACSTACK^® technology puts the company on a broad base. The use of these systems has already enabled several speed world records and world championship wins in various racing categories.

The patented production process is the key to VAC's long-standing cooperation with motorsport. The VACSTACK process enables the use of very thin strip material (down to 50 µm) in lamination stacks. Individual sheets are bonded to the height of the finished core. Then the final shape is produced using wire-cutting technology. Despite thin sheet metal thicknesses, VAC achieves typical packing densities of 98 % and at the same time excellent insulation between the lamination layers. The very thin laminations help to prevent eddy current losses extremely efficiently.

In Formula 1, for example, VACSTACK finds use in the ERS (Energy Recovery System). The energy recovery consists of two systems: MGU-K (motor-generator-unit-kinetic) and MGU-H (motor-generator-unit-heat). The first recovers energy kinetically, while the MGU-H generates energy from the exhaust gas stream using a generator. Although the electric motor-generator unit is fixed to a maximum speed of 125,000 rpm, it is not limited in energy consumption. This is an advantage that VAC knows how to use with its lamination packages.

In formula racing and in Formula Student Electric, weight reduction or performance increase of electric motors is even more decisive. The electrical steel sheets normally used for this purpose are noticeably more limited in terms of magnetic saturation, which is decisive for the power density. Accordingly, VAC supplies the racing series with rotor stator systems made of cobalt-iron alloys VACOFLUX^® and VACODUR^®. While the induction of the standardized electrical steel quality at a field strength of 1,000 A/m is still below 1.5 T, the materials of VAC reach 2.3 T. Thus, either more powerful motors of the same size or smaller motors with the same power can be achieved.

“VAC is the global leading supplier of these high-performance components. With VACSTACK we can therefore meet the special requirements of racing in an optimal way. Since the technology enables maximum performance in the smallest of spaces, it will prevail in all racing series," says Dr. Robert Brand, Product Management and Application Specialist at VAC.

Never change a winning team

VACUUMSCHMELZE (VAC) has supported Formula Student Electric since the introduction of the electromobility division in 2010. All top teams have been using VAC's high-performance materials in their electric motors since the very beginning. Thanks to the rotor-stator systems made of VAC's cobalt iron materials, the AMZ racing team of ETH Zurich won the overall first prize at the Formula Student Germany in Hockenheim on August 12 this year and remains in first place in the world rankings.

The high-performance cobaltiron materials such as VACOFLUX^® and VACODUR^® increase torque by up to 53% compared to conventional materials. In combination with segmented permanent magnet assemblies, the parameters "weight" and "speed" can be adjusted to the optimum and more powerful motors of the same size or significantly lighter motors of the same power can be realized.

Recently, VAC’s premium materials were also successfully used by the team of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which won the first place in the "Electric Vehicle Design" category of the FSAE Lincoln Competition. Max Liben, technical director of the team said: "The high level of performance of these motors is a testament of VAC's production quality and in-depth knowledge – although even more impressive was their ability to quickly adapt and meet the project’s incredibly fast timeline to actually bring these motors to life from conception to final product within one year."

Low-emission flying in the uplift

VAC successfully participated in the Electric & Hybrid Aerospace Technology Symposium. The trend towards electrification and hybridization of drives continues unbroken. The cobalt-iron (CoFe) high-performance materials of the VACUUMSCHMELZE (VAC) are an unique opportunity to combine the necessary technical requirements with size and weight reductions.

The CoFe material VACODUR^®49 fully exploits its advantages in turboelectric hybrid systems: better flux control can typically increase the power density, one of the most important properties of synchronous machines, by 30 %. This allows the torque and maximum power (constant size/weight) to be increased or the required size and weight (constant torque/power) to be minimized.

VACODUR is characterized by a high magnetic saturation of up to 2.3 T in combination with low coercivity. Adapted annealing temperatures meet the demanding strength requirements for high speeds. The wide range of alloys and laminations available is widely used in new projects for hybrid or all-electric aircraft, both in the generator and in the propulsion motor. This enables designers to achieve the optimum balance between torque and weight.

"All major aircraft engine manufacturers are involved in the hybridization of short- and medium-haul aircraft. The aim is not only to reduce fuel consumption, but also to reduce the cost of noise protection measures and bypass flight bans by significantly reducing noise during take-off and landing," says Dr. Robert Brand, Application Specialist at VAC.