“Electric vehicles” may just be the phrase of the year in manufacturing. It’s hard to open an industry publication or browse a website or social media platform without coming across mention of EVs. Whether its EV industry forecasts, discussing new EV technologies, or announcing new EV manufacturing contracts, electric vehicles have been big in the news, and they are here to stay.
While electric vehicles are being discussed more frequently lately, they have been on the radar for many gear manufacturers like Gear Motions for quite some time.
Gear Noise in Electric Vehicles
Looking through Gear Motions blog archives, in 2015 we discussed an article about electric vehicles and how their increase in popularity drove the need for quieter, more efficient gear systems.
More recently, the shift from internal combustion engine transmissions to EVs on a larger scale has further emphasized the need for high precision gears in EVs to meet crucial requirements of reducing noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH), and preventing wear and tear. Factors such as accuracy of gear profile and surface finishing are all contributors to NVH in electric vehicle gears. Higher precision and durability will be key to meeting these crucial requirements for the industry.
Electric Drivetrains
In addition to the importance of minimizing gear noise, a shift away from traditional drivetrains to electric drivetrains also poses other new challenges for gear manufacturers. New motor designs also mean new standards for gear design. Drivetrains are being designed as unified systems and less often as separate components. Further, there are fewer gears in an electric drivetrain, as few as eight or ten vs. 24.
Gear manufacturers serving this industry will need to work closely with their customers to refine designs and meet tighter tolerances.
Electric Vehicle Gear Manufacturing
As a precision gear manufacturer, Gear Motions has all the essential capabilities needed to serve the electric vehicle market.
From the onset of electric vehicle design and productions, companies like Tesla have relied on our gear manufacturing experience and expertise to bring their products to market. From helping in the design to trouble shooting noise, Gear Motions helped bring modern electric vehicle manufacturing to market.
We recently upgraded our gear grinding equipment and gained even more capacity and new capabilities that put us in an excellent position to take on new electric vehicle gear manufacturing projects. New capabilities added to our program include polish grinding, superfinishing, and biased tree twist control. These new capabilities help to provide the unique, customer specific designs needed for helping reduce noise and vibration in gears for electric vehicles.
See our full portfolio of Gear Production Capabilities
Gear Motions is a full-service gear manufacturer with the expertise to handle every step of the gear manufacturing process. From design to delivery, we’re committed to meeting your needs and exceeding your expectations from start to finish. We can manufacture from your prints or assist with gear design to make sure your gears fit and function perfectly.
Are you looking for a partner in gear manufacturing for electric vehicles? We’d love to hear from you! Contact us with details about your project.
