One of the goals of the Fortiq project was to use an existing, cast BLDC motor with minor modifications to keep costs at a minimum while delivering the high performance and reliability of a fully commercialized product. As our manufacturer was wrapping up production of these motors, both parties discussed a few final aspects of the design to ensure the motors are compatible with the other integrated parts. These manufacturing hurdles have caused some delays, so I’m writing this update to give you insight into the discussions with our manufacturer. You can see a summarized version of our discussion with the manufacturer below: Manufacturer:
The order is being prepared and I have two things that have come up. Here is the picture of the motor, where you can see how we handle the lead wire hole on the side of the cover and the black grommet we use to protect the lead wire hole on the back of the cover. But I found the OD of black grommet out of the side of the cover. Do you need us to trim off the part which is over the edge of the endcap? Or we can keep the original size if there is no effect for the usage? {fortiq-module-opening-image} Attached is an updated drawing for the motor. The tolerance, called out below in the red box, was adjusted to be consistent with the other 3 parts. Please confirm that this is acceptable. {fortiq-module-motor-drawing} Vertiq:
Please find our responses and an additional question below: We do not need the grommet. The wires will be fed directly into an aluminum part mounted on the bottom, so you can omit the grommets entirely. Thanks for letting us know about the tolerance change. Looks good. I’ve added a third item here. Do you have a good way to seal up the side hole?
Manufacturer:
We can remove the grommet no problem. For 3, is it an issue if that hole is open? I am discussing with our factory and the samples are prepared and we don’t currently have those sealed but can look at options for doing so. Vertiq:
Yes, unfortunately we don’t want the open hole that allows dust and such into the motor. Making a slide-in insert would be easy, but it would have to be assembled by you since inserting it happens at assembly time. Here’s a little prototype I made with our 3D printer. {fortiq-module-prototype-seal} If you don’t insert these, then we would have to disassemble every motor and insert them ourselves. Not the end of the world, but now both parties are doing extra work. Are these already assembled with the white plastic inserts inside? If not, could we manufacture and send you the parts that you then insert? Manufacturer:
Yes, please send the parts to our office and we will re-work the motors for you. *end scene* Our team has finished manufacturing the parts and has just shipped them to the manufacturer. We expect it to be about a month before we receive the motors.