Located in Forchheim, not far from the German city of Nuremberg, Waasner has been manufacturing electric-motor laminations for over 70 years.

While the advent of e-mobility has opened up an important new market, the motors for electric cars have stricter production requirements — hence Waasner’s order for a Smartline EV 3.8 press from Schuler AG (www.schulergroup.com).

Because lamination geometries are growing ever more complex in the quest to make motors more energy-efficient, the number of stamping steps — and therefore the size of the progressive dies used — is also increasing.

At the same time, the outer diameter of the laminations is increasing to provide better motor performance; and to make matters even more challenging, there is a growing trend towards stamping laminations in two offset tracks, in order to save material and increase productivity.

The presses for these laminations require a bigger die installation area for the longer progressive dies; they also have to satisfy extremely strict requirements for precision.

The Smartline EV 3.8 features an upright opening of 3.80m and a press bed with a length of 3.70m; it also offers extremely low deflection and levels of precision associated with shorter press beds.

This machine processes sheet metal just 0.2mm thick, which is necessary to ensure that electric motors achieve high levels of efficiency and low eddy-current losses — and consume less electricity.

Schuler expects to deliver the system in the first half of 2019. Moreover, Waasner is planning for a second and identical machine, to ensure that it will be prepared for the future of electro-mobility.