Automotive Industry Embraces Additive Manufacturing

'[SiC (silicon carbide) semiconductor devices] offer so much opportunity to improve inverter performance, but system designers are often unable to take full advantage of their potential because their ideas cannot be manufactured using conventional techniques. Additive manufacturing lets us design in 3D without these constraints, and we see great benefit in applying the technique to EV inverters. These have a significant impact on how hard you can drive other components of the EV powertrain, so even a modest advance can create a virtuous circle of improvements in efficiency, packaging, and energy density for tomorrow's EVs,' said Peter Wilson, the professor leading the IAAPS study.

Currently, inverters are designed in a 2D process where flat component boards are stacked with a thick aluminum liquid-cooled cold plate at the bottom. However, the efficiency, reliability, and performance of the inverters drops as temperature rises. The team hopes 3D printing can solve this, as it allows for a complex lattice internal structure with walls less than 1mm thick in the cooling plates, a more effective cooling solution than the plates with machined cooling channels.

The 3D-printed design is also lighter and carries a higher current, making the inverter significantly more power dense. Its more compact assembly means less distance between switches and gate drivers, leading to a more effective Electro-Magnetic Interference. This allows the switches to operate at faster speeds, taking full advantage of the SiC technology compared to the traditional solution.

While this project is still in its early stages in the UK, additive manufacturing in automotive applications is spiking across Europe. In the past three months, Ford became the first carmaker in Europe to add a large format 3D printer to its fleet, Audi began using 3D printing to produce hot form tooling at its Metal 3D Printing Centre, and the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN Formula 1 team doubled use of 3D printed parts in its C41 race car. With benefits including lighter weight, more complex, and more complete parts, the shift to additive for auto shows no signs of slowing down.

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