Live data from Hacker News

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

media.mercedes-benz.com

41–50 of 362 posts

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

#41
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Stick two of them together on the same axle then.

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

#42
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Since they're relatively compact they will probably start stacking them. Like pancakes.

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

#44
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?

And why had that cars be to be refueled in pharmacies?

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Wiesloch_Stadtapotheke_E...

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

#45
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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"
Regenerative braking slows the car more aggressively than an ICE where you take your foot of the gas, so the pedal change isn't putting on the brakes, it's communicating to a driver used to ICE that the car is slowing more than might be expected.

There may also be a sports-related reason for people who habitually left-foot brake.

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

#46
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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,…

The equilibrium of "good enough vs technological simplicity" for cars was probably reached in the 1950s. Everything after that was more or less solving "non-issues" with ever-increasing complexity ;)

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

#47
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'd like a 600 HP 1.5l supercharged V16 - doesn't even need to be in a car, mainly just to listen to!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Racing_Motors_V16

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

#48

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.

A very good YouTube video from Munroe Live (an engineering firm specializing in "design for manufacturing") explaining it: https://youtu.be/dCO633KE7RA "Axial Flux Motors Explained"

Edit: a video from them on this particular YASA tech being discussed : https://youtu.be/m507ryWhc6c

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

#49
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.

A typical modern car is already hideously complicated and a different type of motor would not change this.

What is the current market sentiment? Share of EVs is slowly rising so having a good motor as important as ever.

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

#50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did they have to? My impression is British companies sell out as soon as they can these days. Is this something that could be changed with policy? Does Germany incentivise running companies more? Or is this cultural, e.g. British people are more risk averse?

I suspect it has more to do with Germany’s industrial scale in the automotive space (as opposed to incentives or culture).

Yeah. Traditional car makers have enormous demand for EV innovations. Germany has more and bigger traditional car makers.
Post reply on HN