Challenges of Contacting Processes for Thin Copper Flat Wires in the Context of Electromechanical Engineering

The electrical and mechanical contacting of insulated copper wires is one of the most challenging process steps in electromechanical engineering. Especially in the production of electric motors, flat wires are increasingly used as a result of the hairpin technology. The main goal here is to increase the copper fill factor and to implement a fully automated production of the motors. However, the use of flat wires can also lead to an increase of the filling factor in the case of winded single teeth. In order to achieve the required number of turns for the electromagnetic design, flat wires with a high width-to-thickness ratio are used. However, these pose challenges for the necessary contacting process with regard to the connection cross section. In the context of this publication, various contacting methods for thin flat wires and their process-related challenges are therefore compared.