Automotive Engineering - February 2024 - 12

TECHNOLOGY REPORT
NVH
NVH-fighting plastic EV motor mount wins lightweighting award
The electric drive
motor mount for the
Cadillac Lyriq uses
Zytel PA 66, a new formula
that has impressive structural
strength for the amount of NVH
damping it provides.
Celanese Global Marketing Manager Gabriel Knee said the winning EV
motor mount has as much lifetime structural integrity as a metal version
but dampens the high-frequency vibrations that are problematic in
electric motors
Most motor mounts, even for EV applications,
are made of metal alloys. It
makes intuitive sense: It's a vibrationintensive
mounting application that demands
durability that matches the life of
the vehicle itself. But there is another
way. Now, a composite nylon-based motor
mount on the Cadillac Lyriq has won
the Society for Automotive Analysts'
Innovation in Lightweighting Award.
The mount is a collaboration between
GM, anti-vibration parts maker DN
Automotive and chemical company
Celanese. It is made with Zytel PA NVH
Gen 2, a new polyamide (PA 66). The
results not only showed up in development
data, but in the end product,
which has reviewers raving about how
quiet the Lyriq's cabin is - " crypt quiet, "
according to Automotive News.
Gabriel Knee, global marketing manager
of engineered materials for
Celanese, said that almost all discussions
at his company talk about using " the
right material for the right location and
the right application. He still had a sense
of wonder when he summarized the part
again. " This is, you know, a plastic mount
that's being used on the main drive motor
of the Lyriq. So when you think of
the electric motor, and the amount of
torque that goes through that, it's a
pretty phenomenal amount of mechanical
strength that's required there. "
Knee said that mount is made from the
12 February 2024
polymer, which is filled 35% with glass,
and not only saves 30% of the weight of
an alternative standard metal motor
mount, but it also eliminates the need for
several other components (primary mass
dampers) in the vehicle. This also reduces
costs. And, of course, it offers the mechanical
strength to last through the end
of the vehicle's life. Knee said improvements
were the key to Cadillac's adoption
of the part. " One thing I did not realize
was within the electric vehicle, you're
dealing with much higher frequency noises
and, to damp those high frequency
noises, it turns out that this material is
ideal, " he said.
Lindsay Brooke, former editor of
Automotive Engineering and one of
three judges for the competition, lauded
the partnership's work on the mount.
" Celanese and Cadillac engineers have
brought an elegantly simple solution to
the multiple challenges of EV lightweighting,
NVH abatement and cost
reduction, " he said. " Zytel PA66 is once
again the workhorse material for this
vehicle application, proving its everwidening
scope. "
Dave Andrea, a supplier-relations
partner at Plante Moran and a judge,
said the primary factors the judges considered
were
* Technical complexity. " Was it a reuse
of an existing material or existing
process? They just found it a new
home? Or was it truly something innovative? "
*
Total savings of the product. Just saying
lightweighting wasn't enough,
Andrea said: " We had some entries
that came close to a 40 percent cost
reduction. "
* Overall parts reduction.
* Scalability.
* Serviceability. For instance, a gigacasting
solves complexity, but can it
be serviced?
Abhay Vadhavkar, a retired engineering
director now consulting for Envorso,
was the third judge on the panel.
Another Celanese project won an
honorable mention: a Zytel-based airconditioning
compressor bracket being
used on the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
Other innovations earning honorable
mention were:
* Meridian Lightweight Technologies |
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
Magnesium Strut Tower
* Teijin Automotive Technologies |
Hexacore Class A Body Panel process
* IRMCO | New sustainable lubricant
* Mubea CarboTech | Composite underbody
protection system
* eLeapPower | Integration of EV
charging and powertrain components
* Plasma Bound | CPA surface preparation
technology
* Bocar | Toyota Tunda rear-end post
Chris Clonts
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING
BOTH IMAGES: SAE/CHRIS CLONTS
Automotive Engineering - February 2024

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