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

media.mercedes-benz.com

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

#171

Post by utopiah »

mohsen1 wrote: post #161
utopiah wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for sharing. I wish it was a bit more interactive especially when there are parameters, e.g. "Widen the disc and torque rises with diameter cubed" I wish there was a slider to see that effect and thus maybe why there might be a sweet spot. Also I have "The Way Things Work" on my desk right now and can't help but wonder, could you adapt some of the pages of the book this way? It seems like exactly the kind of c…

Code is here https://github.com/mohsen1/axial-flux-motor-explainer Feel free to steal! This was one shot with Claude Code. You can take it and adopt it to your need

Oof... well thanks for sharing but that's basically unusable for me. It neatly all packed in a 2MB file containing all assets, threejs, etc.

I assumed it's based on a three.js template due to the `Rendered live with three.js · Drag anywhere to orbit the model` kind of showcase but unfortunately that's not linked. I also imagine the 3D models are more that primitives (at least the arrows showcasing the flow) but I don't know where they came from, if that are also from a template or repository or if they are generated from a tube mesh.

So... I'm genuinely grateful that you took the time to share but I don't think I can do something with this except restarting from scratch, especially if it's one-shot.

I'd suggest, if you don't mind the extra effort, that you add a ReadMe.md in the repository to clarify how you did this, at least model name, version and prompt.

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

#172

Post by c22 »

utopiah wrote: post #124
mohsen1 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was curious how this thing works and asked Claude to visualize it -- mostly to see how good Fable is and I have to say, what it made was good enough for me to get a gist of it. Posted it here https://azimi.me/axial-flux-motor-explainer/

Thanks for sharing. I wish it was a bit more interactive especially when there are parameters, e.g. "Widen the disc and torque rises with diameter cubed" I wish there was a slider to see that effect and thus maybe why there might be a sweet spot. Also I have "The Way Things Work" on my desk right now and can't help but wonder, could you adapt some of the pages of the book this way? It seems like exactly the kind of c…

https://archive.org/details/TWTK_WIN

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

#173

Post by hamburglar »

mohsen1 wrote: post #99
miohtama wrote: post #87

Mercedes acquired Yasa (UK) couple of years ago and now getting up to the speed in the production. Here is a nice video that explains axial flux motors with a factory visit https://youtu.be/B2Hl4c1iZK0?si=VfDYARyuaPVj1nKm They are so, so, small.

I was curious how this thing works and asked Claude to visualize it -- mostly to see how good Fable is and I have to say, what it made was good enough for me to get a gist of it. Posted it here https://azimi.me/axial-flux-motor-explainer/

Can you elaborate a little on what you asked Claude to do here? This is a pretty impressive one-shot.

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

#174

Post by klaff »

swiftcoder wrote: post #57
chinathrow wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Click "More" and scroll down: "In contrast to conventional radial flux motors, the electromagnetic flux in an axial flux motor runs parallel to the axis of rotation. The key components are arranged in a disc‑shaped layout: two rotors sandwich the stator from the left and right. This design enables an especially compact motor architecture, high power and torque density, and new freedoms in drivetrain packaging. In the…

This is the same design that enables the PCB Stator Motors, right?

Yes. If you have a laser printer, that windup sound you hear at the start of a job is the polygon mirror motor spinning up thousands of RPMs - those are PCB stator motors. As were VCR head motors.

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

#175

Post by klaff »

0-_-0 wrote: post #131
engineer_22 wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This design enables an especially compact motor architecture, high power and torque density, and new freedoms in drivetrain packaging. Hand waving.

No, it means the motor is smaller and it can be put into the wheel

It doesn't make that a good idea. Armature losses are proportional to torque squared - doesn't matter if it is radial or axial design. That's why all the EVs today have gear boxes with ratios like 13:1. Get rid of that gearbox and the steady-state losses go up with the square of that ratio. Then there are the issues of sprung mass, and where to put the mechanical brakes.

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

#176

Post by jcgrillo »

JSR_FDED wrote: post #102
originalvichy wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder how developing electric motors compares to combustion engines. My hunch says that it’s the main reason the Chinese high-tech electronics industry was able to develop and iterate leading electric vehicles so fast. (Edit: My more clarified point is regarding the machinery required + place to accommodate them to work on electric motors vs. ICE metal parts and all the intermediary parts transfering power in the…

The new season of Formula One feels (unfortunately) like Formula E!

It would be awesome if they would implement a crude rule: no computers. You can use a computer to design the car--CAD/CAM/CAE are all fine--but no stored program computers are allowed in the race car. I think that would improve F1 tremendously.

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

#177

Post by phatfish »

prepend wrote: post #122
mohsen1 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was curious how this thing works and asked Claude to visualize it -- mostly to see how good Fable is and I have to say, what it made was good enough for me to get a gist of it. Posted it here https://azimi.me/axial-flux-motor-explainer/

This viz is superficially neat, but hard to get info out of. It seems like a demo in a movie. What did you like most about it?

Yup, the visualization didn't help me understand the concept any more than plain text. Superficial in the way that you would expect from a system that has no real world reference for what it is creating.

To get something better I expect more than a one-shot is needed, and the knowledge to guide it in the right way.

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

#178

Post by Grombobulous »

vctrnk wrote: post #150
Grombobulous wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am somewhat confused at the intensity of pushback for the statement “leading electric vehicles.” Chinese EVs are leading and that doesn’t necessarily mean being the best, most advanced vehicles. They are leading in value/pricing, and in many regions they are leading in sales. BYD sells almost double the EV volume of Tesla globally as of December 2025. They are objectively leading in that respect. I think the parent…

Semiofftopic but somehow I took offense at the Vista comparison. Aero Glass was peak UI design to me, and I'd certainly prefer it to modern paradigms like flat controls, or to stretch it even further, Corporate Memphis etc. Curse you, Apple and Jony Ive. You only needed to tone skeuomorphism down not kill it.

I’m genuinely delighted that this reaction to that little phrase came up! It was definitely something of a half-joke on my part: the Mercedes infotainment system is very well-regarded, but it does not look “modern” compared to something like a Tesla, Rivian, or Xiaomi.

The hyperscreen from a physical hardware perspective looks strangely dated to me as well, depending on the specific car model.

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

#180

Post by JTbane »

csomar wrote: post #132
deaux wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't. You didn't know before either. The difference is trust. How do you trust it as much as you do the hypothetical humans making such representations? That's up to you.

I think humans develop expertise and brand names and get called out when they make mistakes and if they are too wrong, their reputation is damaged. This doesn’t seem to apply to AI for some reason. It keeps generating incorrect results after incorrect results, yet people continue to trust its output. I don’t know what to make of this.

I've starting going back to books, either at the library or e-books. Librarians are very good at telling you if nonfiction is biased, outdated, or incorrect.
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