The first step towards the new, medium-sized network was already taken in November 2020, when the family-run Nagel Group from Nürtingen took over the plant and machine manufacturer Gehring in neighbouring Ostfildern (near Stuttgart), which further strengthened its role as a technology partner for production systems for electromobility. The next important step is the intensive cooperation with the forming specialist Wafios from neighbouring Reutlingen.
As a result, a network of two strong medium-sized companies with a total of almost 3,000 employees is being created in the Stuttgart area, one of the most important locations for the automotive industry in Germany. Together, Gehring and Wafios will be implementing stator assembly lines for all important automotive locations worldwide, from the initial idea to commissioning.
"Wafios and Gehring are forming an alliance that will enable us to build a powerful presence on the market for manufacturing systems for stator production," explained Dr Wolfram Lohse, CTO at Gehring.
"This cooperation will allow us to make the entire process chain more efficient because we take a comprehensive view of the technologies and don't just focus on individual processes."
The cooperation, therefore, offers everything from a single source - from prototype production to systems for series production. Another important aspect: The OEM has only one contact for the entire process chain.
"The biggest beneficiaries are the car manufacturers. They benefit from our extensive know-how, developed over many years, which eliminates all unnecessary interfaces and friction points from individual solutions," explained Tobias Single, head of e-mobility at Wafios. "Together, we develop safe processes quickly and in line with customer requirements. In the process, each of us contributes the know-how around our core technologies."
The cooperation combines Gehring's decades of experience in designing systems for automotive series production and Wafios' technological leadership in the field of straightening technology and wire forming, which is particularly important for the production of hairpins.
The low cycle times of high-volume production, in which electric motors are produced in under one minute, is a major challenge for stator production and its very complex wire-bending processes.
Single said: "We have mastered this complexity and can offer efficient, process-capable and future-proof overall solutions on the solid basis of our existing know-how. In addition, the bending process contributes significantly to quality: Anything that I do at the beginning, whether right or wrong, makes the processes further down the line easier or more difficult."
This is where Wafios comes on board as the right partner for Gehring, because the FMU E bending machine has already proven itself many times over in the automotive industry in the small series production of hairpins. But it is not just about transferring existing technology to mass production. The collaboration is also tackling new developments to improve the performance and efficiency of electric motors. This is where a third partner comes into play.
This is where the start-up company copaltec comes in, which is developing special polyurethane (PUR)-based casting resins as a partner of the Nagel Group. The resins are introduced into motors using a vacuum process to protect them from external influences as well as overheating. "It can increase the performance of electric motors by up to 20 percent," said Jochen Nahl, consulting engineer at copaltec.
"Our PUR-based resin has high thermal conductivity. The potting compounds used so far are used for insulation, for bonding cells and magnets, and as "gap fillers."
That's why the battery and electric motor heat up: they need to be actively cooled." The start-up relies on the principle of "introducing thermal conductivity via potting compound," which significantly reduces the necessary cooling power, keeps the electric motor at a lower temperature level and, on the other hand, increases performance. Together with Gehring, copaltec is now developing machine solutions for industrialisation in the electric drive train.
The new medium-sized network can now offer all important core technologies - from bending to impregnation or final casting with copaltec resin. "Together, we develop scalable and modular solutions that are geared to the production philosophy of our customers," said Bernd Nagel, managing director of Nagel and the newly acquired Gehring Group.
"As a system supplier, we integrate the respective required conveyor technology and automation from suppliers. For example, full interlinking does not usually make sense with a maximum annual production output of 50,000 units." Thanks to scalability, however, a system originally designed for small batches can also "grow" to accommodate large batches if required.
"Thanks to the cooperation, the partners are coordinating all procedures across processes, thus improving the entire manufacturing process holistically across the entire technology chain," emphasised Dr Uwe-Peter Weigmann, CEO of Wafios.
The technical risk involved in transferring know-how from small to large series is reduced thanks to the close bridging from sample production at Wafios and Gehring to complete series systems. But the cooperation does not end with delivery: The combination of the two service networks, which have been tried and tested in practice for many years, ensures rapid support in all the important countries.
While the electromobile theory is rather grey, the technology centre at Gehring's main plant in Ostfildern offers a colourful practical experience: complete machines for the sample production of hairpin stators and electric motors are located there.
Together with the customers, the network partners use this as a basis for developing customised systems for the respective individual technologies such as wire bending or hairpin assembly.
