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Mercedes‑Benz starts large‑scale production of electric axial flux motor

media.mercedes-benz.com

31–40 of 362 posts

Re: Mercedes‑Benz starts large‑scale production of electric axial flux motor

#31
post #10

Never become dependent on doing hideously complicated things. You will eventually struggle to choose to do something more efficient, as the european auto industry is currently displaying. The car where thid motor will be used will, given current market sentiment, be a massive flop. Here they are showing off how complex the manufacturing process is. Surely we’d all be better off with simpler and cheaper processes.

> Never become dependent on doing hideously complicated things Is Mercedes stupid? How did Carl Benz dare to do something as hideously complicated as building the first gasoline-powered car in history? And why did they kept inventing complicated stuff that ended in all modern cars like ABS, adaptive cruise control, direct fuel injection, emergency brake assist, etc, etc?

Not all of those inventions are bad. But not all of them are coming from a place of necessity. All of them do increase complexity. My gripe with Mercedes is not that they are constantly pushing boundaries on what can be done with more tech. My main gripe is that the EVs they are building are essentially as complex as the ICE cars and follow largely the same design principles as the ICE cars. For instance, in the EQS, instead of applying engine breaking when the driver takes their foot off the pedal, they went to great lengths to _move the break pedal_ in proportion to the amount of engine breaking that is currently being applied as per the VCUs command. And yet the door cards on the EQS are not up to the standard of an S class.

My main gripe with MB is that they have this new technology that could simplify things and let them build a better product. Instead of building around it, they shove it in to their existing designs. I was expecting an electric S class to be more akin to a Lucid Air sans the teething problems of a new company. Instead, we get weak attempts at solving non issues.

And whilst they are certainly not in the market of producing affordable vehicles, I would hope that using EV tech they could create a better version of their existing fleet. I do not think anyone buying an A class cares about the 4 popper under the hood - losing it and simplifying radically, in my mind at least, would give them more budget and leeway to create a more compelling product.

Re: Mercedes‑Benz starts large‑scale production of electric axial flux motor

#33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's very difficult to raise late stage capital in the UK, especially for deep tech. We invent so much but our capital ecosystem is all tied up in land and our pensions providers don't want to know.

The UK is by far the best country to raise venture capital in Europe, and is the third largest market in the world after the US and China...

> UK is by far the best country to raise venture capital in Europe

For late stage? Continental Europe has its banks and industrial policy. America and China have their deep pockets. Scaling out of the UK is incredibly hard, doubly so post Brexit, that’s why they sell early.

Re: Mercedes‑Benz starts large‑scale production of electric axial flux motor

#36

It would have been awesome if that article had, at any point, explained what an electric axial flux motor was, and why anyone might want one.

Here's a good video on it from my watch history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCO633KE7RA

This one gives a shorter more high level overview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0CNZPenCb8

Re: Mercedes‑Benz starts large‑scale production of electric axial flux motor

#37
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here's a good video on it from my watch history: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCO633KE7RA

This one gives a shorter more high level overview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0CNZPenCb8

I would be careful about that video, it seems relatively "explaining this new amazing innovation that has no/negligible downsides (please invest in us)" rather than "explaining the practical pros & cons of this technology".

Re: Mercedes‑Benz starts large‑scale production of electric axial flux motor

#38

Tangential, how much regen can this system support? For example, can a car with 200kW propulsion have a 400kW regen (Tesla has upto 65) and are cost effective like friction brakes?

Am I reading you right that breaking power (that you want to regenerate in the system) >> speeding power? Obvious now I come to think of it, and still pretty nifty new thing learned if true!

Re: Mercedes‑Benz starts large‑scale production of electric axial flux motor

#39

It would have been awesome if that article had, at any point, explained what an electric axial flux motor was, and why anyone might want one.

It's basically the V8 of electric motors. Different topology results in better power to weight ratio. From the outside they look pancake shaped.

I want a V12 or V16, thank you very much.

Re: Mercedes‑Benz starts large‑scale production of electric axial flux motor

#40

It would have been awesome if that article had, at any point, explained what an electric axial flux motor was, and why anyone might want one.

Most motors have N-S axis of magnets aligned tangential to the axis of rotation. Axial flux motors have N-S poles parallel to rotation. This allows motors to be thinner and wider as well as anyhow more lighter and sometimes easier made. Whether they make sense depends, it seems.
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