The Role of Nickel in High-Performance Laminations
Stamped motor laminations are thin sheets of metal that give motor components like stators greater efficiency. These laminations must be made of specialized materials to optimize the motor’s longevity and performance. Learn about the unique role of nickel alloys in high-performance laminations.
Why Use Nickel Alloys for High-Performance Laminations?
Motor cores benefit from the use of nickel alloys. These metals are very electrically conductive, which helps stators and rotors run efficiently. Nickel’s magnetic properties do not degrade when exposed to high temperatures, so nickel laminations are suitable for high-temperature applications. Its corrosion resistance makes it a reliable choice in engines that face extreme environments, such as those used in the industrial, aerospace, and energy fields.
Nickel alloys also offer a higher saturation flux density than silicon steel, so using nickel in magnets is ideal where a high level of magnetic flux is required. Magnetic flux density is the measure of the magnetic field’s directional strength.
The Role of Nickel in High-Performance Laminations
Using nickel-based alloys in high-performance laminations means motors can efficiently handle higher temperatures and corrosion. Custom motor components, aerospace motors, and energy transmission equipment all rely on nickel laminations. Here is an overview of how each application benefits from nickel alloys, including the specific grades we use at Thomson Lamination.
Custom Motor Components
In rotating electric motor assemblies, nickel alloys with 49% or 80% nickel exhibit high permeability and low core losses. Some of the most common custom applications for nickel alloy laminations are:
- Motors
- Resolvers
- Synchros
To optimize your results, choose a manufacturer that can manage the precise requirements of your project. Nickel alloy laminations require specialized protocols during annealing to produce the desired qualities. In particular, manufacturers should expose the nickel to dry hydrogen and add magnesium oxide and aluminum oxide surface insulation during the annealing stage. Following these measures is key to minimizing material waste, given the fragility of annealed nickel.
Aerospace Engineering
Aerospace assemblies face extreme environments, and they’re often used in zero-failure applications where the components need to perform reliably and efficiently. Nickel alloy laminations are used in high-performance stator and rotor assemblies that power brakes, generators, jet engines, landing systems, and more. In jet engines, nickel laminations provide the corrosion protection and high-temperature strength required to run efficiently under harsh conditions. Nickel laminations can generate greater thrust while maintaining their structural integrity.
Nickel-iron alloys are particularly well-suited for detecting high currents and guiding the magnetic flux of hard magnets, such as in torque sensors. These nickel-iron alloys have high permeability as well as the following characteristics:
- Saturation inductions from 1.3 T to 1.5 T
- Coercivity from 3.5 A/m to 10 A/m
Thomson Lamination offers the following nickel-iron alloys for various aerospace applications:
- PERMENORM® 5000 H2
- PERMENORM® 5000 V5
- MEGAPERM® 40L
- ULTRAVAC® 44 V6
- VDM MAG 7940
- VDM MAG 50
- Hi-perm® 49
- HyMu® 80
Energy Industry
Nickel alloy laminations are critical for the development of high-performance, high-efficiency power generation systems. These systems include wind, solar, and nuclear energy generation, and their laminations must have tight tolerances to optimize reliability. Lamination stack bonding plays a major role in the assembly’s durability and performance, with the two main bonding methods being self-bonding and epoxy glue dot bonding.
Choose TLC for High-Performance Nickel Laminations
Thomson Lamination Company specializes in producing high-quality nickel-alloy laminations for high-performance motors. We have the expertise and equipment necessary to create custom laminations to your exact mechanical and electrical specifications, for prototypes to large production runs. Contact us today to learn more about our services, or request a quote to get started on your project.
