3D Printed Induction Motor by End of Next Year

[Brian_Krassenstein]

Efforts are underway as part of the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (Arpa-E) to develop an induction motor that can be created using only additive manufacturing technologies. Researchers at United Technologies Corp Research Center in conjunction with a variety of other experts are working to make this a reality and hope to have a prototype to deliver by the end of 2015. One of the requirements for this project is a reduction or elimination of the rare-earth materials required for the magnets. This has led another team of researchers to investigate the possibilities for 3D printing a type of magnet known as an exchange-spring magnet that has to be built up brick-by-brick in a very precise manner, the perfect approach for additive manufacturing. More details on this incredible research can be found here: http://3dprint.com/18176/induction-motor-3d-printed/

Below is a picture of a typical Induction Motor:

[Feign]

I love these kinds of stories, but I hate researching them, because as soon as I do there are comments that veer off into permanent magnet motors, water-hydogen-water power cycles and other impossible perpetual motion machines that someone is convinced they have uniquely invented and that it will work right if they just tune it just right or work out one piece of data they're missing.

The sad part being that historically, each of the perpetual motion machines has been "invented" hundreds of times, sometimes thousands of times, and they always seem like they're so close to working if the inventor can just figure out the missing piece... But history forgets them, and a new generation comes along with one or two people that think they've "invented" the exact same thing again.

Now that I'm done with that little rant, I always like to hear a big agency or company pledge that they're going to seriously push for a technology milestone, especially with a realistic-ish deadline of 1 year.

Now let's see GE have a printed motor in three months just to one-up the DoE.

[Hugues]

don't want to be the smart ass here but induction motors do not contain magnets, they have windings on stator and rotor and they use....induction.... to...induce... a current.

[Feign]

First, that was a great video which explains it more simply than any I've seen before.

Second, I think there was some confusion between the data and reporting of it here (or between the reporting and reading, or heck, maybe all three). They want to print an induction motor because it doesn't require magnets. Meanwhile, another team is trying to print magnets in order to make a more traditional printed motor. The team making magnets isn't the one making an induction motor.