Kennametal develops 3D-printed lightweight stator bore tool

Using additive layer manufacturing, Kennametal produced this stator bore tool that weighs half that of a conventionally manufactured version.

Kennametal has developed a 3D-printed stator bore tool designed to meet customer requirements for lighter-weight tooling used to machine components for hybrid and electric vehicles.

E-mobility components are typically machined on small, low-horsepower CNC machining centers that require lighter-weight tooling. The 3D-printed stator bore tool weighs half that of the conventionally manufactured version, while still meeting accuracy, roundness, and surface finish requirements for aluminum motor body boring.

The tool is equipped with fine, adjustable RIQ reaming inserts for high-precision finishing and a KM4X adapter for rigidity. The tool also features internal 3D-printed cooling channels.

“By using metal powder bed 3D printing together with finite element analysis software, we were able to design and build a tool that brought the moment of inertia very close to the spindle face, increasing its rigidity while meeting the customer´s weight restrictions,” said Werner Penkert, manager, Future Solutions.

Two versions of the tool were built—one with a carbon fiber tube, the other using a 3D-printed metal tube. The tool with the 3D-printed tube weighed 23.6 lbs. and the carbon fiber version weighed 20.9 lbs., less than half of their conventional counterparts.