Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, as novel low-altitude transportation vehicles, hold significant application prospects for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) in the future. To enhance flight endurance and payload capacity, the electrical drive systems of eVTOLs require lightweight designs that simultaneously meet the thermal dissipation demands of high-power motors. Consequently, achieving efficient thermal management within limited mass and space constraints has become a critical challenge in the current design of eVTOL powertrains.
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As a core component of the eVTOL powertrain, the motor stator frame is primarily responsible for stator fixation and structural load-bearing. It also undertakes the critical function of heat conduction and dissipation, while meeting comprehensive requirements regarding structural lightweighting and high stiffness under high-altitude, high-power-density operating conditions. Leveraging the characteristics and advantages of metal additive manufacturing, BLT has conducted structural optimization on the eVTOL motor stator frame.
Physical prototype of motor stator frame
Based on the component’s specific features, BLT adopted a “Structure-Function Integration” design philosophy. Functional features such as heat pipes and fins were conformally
designed with the structural body and manufactured as a single piece via printing. By integrating multiple
types of heat exchange structures internally and optimizing their layout, the heat exchange surface area
within the confined space is fully maximized. This solution effectively enhances the heat dissipation
capability of the motor stator frame and allows for customized adaptation to various scenarios, providing
systematic support for high-performance motor power output.
Detailed view of motor stator frame
In the manufacturing phase, BLT utilized the BLT-S400 (6 lasers) machine to fabricate the stato rframe as a monolithic structure. A layer thickness of 30μm was employed to ensure a uniform surface finish and precise structural features, laying a stable foundation for subsequent lightweighting and superior thermal performance. The material selected was BLT-AlSi10Mg aluminum alloy, which offers advantages in lightweighting, thermal conductivity, and process formability. Through optimized design combined with extensive metal additive manufacturing engineering experience, the project achieved efficient fabrication of the stator frame and significant performance enhancement.
BLT has accumulated substantial application results in the aerospace and low altitude economy sectors, establishing full process solutions covering design, materials, processes, and batch production. Currently, various key
component structures have been successfully prepared in these fields. In frontier explorations such as
constructing 3D transportation networks and expanding urban air commuting, BLT’s metal additive manufaturing solutions provide stable technical support, helping to achieve component lightweighting,
structural functional integration, and production efficiency improvements,empowering a vision for more efficient
and greener mobility.
