As electric axles (e-axles) become increasingly compact and functionally integrated (X in 1 solutions), integrating power electronics with innovative and lightweight housings while ensuring thermal efficiency and durability is a major engineering challenge. To do so, the cases serve several purposes:

• Protection
The case shields electronic components from external environmental factors like dust, moisture, water/humidity, physical damage and fire.

• Thermal Management
During their operation power electronic devices generate heat. To protect the components from overheating and to ensure their functionality, it is necessary to provide efficient cooling.

• Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) Shielding
High Voltage power electronics significantly contribute to electromagnetic interference during their operation, especially when it comes to switching operations like inverting or converting. To ensure the correct function of the power electronics the case needs to provide an efficient EMI shielding in both directions: from inside to outside and from outside to inside.

• Safety
The case prevents direct contact with potentially hazardous components like high-voltage circuits, ensuring in this way safety for users and surroundings.

• Mounting and Integration
The case provides a platform for mounting electronic components like, for example, PCB’s and helps the integration into larger systems with mounting brackets or similar.

This lecture explores how innovative hybrid material solutions are enabling more lightweight, cost-effective and integrated e-axle systems.
Röchling’s hybrid solutions combine advanced polymer-metal pairings with innovative joining processes can get the best out of both material types and combining them to technologically advanced solutions (plastic’s lower density and insulative properties as well the integration of functions due to design freedom, metal’s thermal and electrical conductive properties).

You will hear more about:
• Innovative leak tight metal-plastic bonding process and material characteristics
• Hybrid design approaches for thermal, structural and electromagnetic optimization
• Integration potentials for lightweight and cost-effective power electronics cases