How EJOT fasteners enable creative approaches to electric vehicle battery assemblies
Advanced fastening solutions from EJOT enable automotive engineers to optimise the design of electric vehicle battery (EVB) assemblies to realise far-reaching benefits in terms of opening up new creative potential for the electric vehicle’s design and efficiency of production.
As a global leader in the design and manufacture of fastening systems for the automotive industry for over 50 years, EJOT offers expert insights and products to help automotive designers to achieve the optimum fastener solution for EVB projects.
Steve Wynn, UK Sales Manager for Industrial Fastening Solutions at EJOT UK said: “We understand the challenges involved with ensuring the battery is as lightweight as possible to optimise performance and reduce energy consumption, while at the same time being designed for both water and air tightness and remaining fully serviceable.
“We also know that the EVB design must utilise a mix of connected components that are conductive in some instances, while requiring isolating qualities for safety reasons in other areas. And there is the critical issue of fastener cleanliness too, given that any contamination present within the electric powertrain can lead to short-circuiting.”
Through the range of advanced fastening systems for EVB assemblies available from EJOT, designers have at their disposal a range of solutions they can depend on to meet these goals and more, particularly in relation to using lightweight materials. EJOT fasteners helped pioneer the use of lightweight and thin sheet materials in the automotive industry and today the latest versions of these products and systems are helping EV manufacturers benefit further.
Where the EVB assembly is concerned, these fasteners are enabling the shift away from using standard steel in motor housings to materials like aluminium and plastics, which require solutions to handle different temperature and tolerance demands.
One of the EJOT fasteners at the forefront of EVB assembly is the ALtracs Plus thread forming screw for aluminium. This self-tapping screw is helping to satisfy the increasing volume in this growth market area because of its suitability for lightweight construction due to its optimised thread geometry that facilitates the use of smaller and shorter screws, but with consistently high strength values.
Through these design characteristics and their high quality, ALtracs Plus along with other EJOT fasteners including the EVO PT, which is a high load capacity screw for direct fastening into plastics, will also give greater reliability of installation equipment. And due to the innovative nature of many EJOT fasteners, there is also the scope to reduce the number of parts needed in an EVB assembly which in turn means simpler installation.
The result is that EJOT can help EVB designers arrive at a design that ticks all the boxes, ensuring that high levels of productivity can be maintained in the factory for Takt times to be met more reliably.
Steve added: “Finding new ways to apply our fasteners to provide high strength joints in plastics, composite materials, thin sheet metals and foams will be increasingly important as EV adoption and use grows. The continuous pursuit of improvements in the whole vehicle design, and particularly EVBs, is going to be key for the industry to deliver vehicles that are popular with drivers and suit their requirements without compromise, and we are delighted to be supporting that process.
“So if you are working on an EVB project, talk to us to explore how our range, including metal screws for plastics, plastic screws, friction-weld systems, plastic fasteners and removable fasteners, can help you achieve your design goals.”
In addition to its fasteners for EVBs, EJOT’s range provides a solution in numerous automotive applications –in ICE, hybrid and EV powered vehicles – with consistency in quality and performance assured. This includes screws for use in body in white (BIW), e-connectivity, motors, lighting, seating and doors.
EJOT also provides valuable tools to support designers seeking to integrate its fasteners into new assembly designs. This includes access to its specialist calculation software which will assist in the development process and potentially deliver savings in terms of time and costs.