26 August 2024
As governments around the world reduce the need for CO2 EJOT UK has been pursuing cost reduction for many years, culminating in a global shift towards commercial electrification. Therefore, EJOT UK offers a comprehensive product range that provides robustness and light weight benefits to the electric vehicle market.
The dominant market for thread forming screws in EJOT’s industrial engineering business has traditionally been the automotive industry. This market is primarily driven by the product portfolio, which is based on parts rationalization, i.e. reducing the number of fastening products in assemblies while increasing the strength of the connections. In Germany, the company’s development teams also work with vehicle manufacturers and academic institutions as part of the ongoing process towards electrification.
The obvious mechanical difference between internal combustion engine vehicles and electric vehicles (EVs) is that the latter do not have a conventional powertrain, but instead replace it with a motor and an electrical control unit (ECU).
“We are seeing a shift in product distribution across the range. For example, the increasing demand for printed microcircuits, which are typically embedded in lightweight aluminium castings, is the domain of EJOT’s micro screw range. These thread-forming screws offer miniature-level performance that designers would normally expect from much larger screws, as an alternative to soldering, gluing, clamping or welding,” comments Steve Wynn, UK Sales Manager for Industrial Fastening Solutions at EJOT.
Meanwhile, the ALtracs from EJOT® In addition, thread forming screws offer great potential for EV applications as they act as heat sinks and dissipate heat distributed throughout the system while providing a strong and vibration-resistant connection.
One vehicle manufacturer uses the ALtracs® Plus thread forming screws to secure the circuit board to a heat sink so that the screw supports heat transfer, while another large German manufacturer uses them for the connector housing of DC adapters as well as for the HV/LV filter in the vehicle’s power electronics and in the WR and PWRDC/DC units. ALtracs® Plus is also used alongside the EJOT Delta PT® Screw for securing the battery back and WR DC/DC unit of another car manufacturer.
Developments in the electric vehicle sector are largely driven by the need to build lighter and stronger parts, which in turn has led to the development of many new materials. Carbon fiber is one such material, sought after for its light weight, versatility and high strength.
“Initially, it was assumed that the new materials required to build electric vehicles would make adhesive solutions a more attractive and dominant fastening method and gain market share,” explains Steve. “While this assumption has partially proven true, mechanical fastenings are still a strongly preferred option, in part due to the hurdles of curing times and fumes associated with using adhesives.”
The biggest challenge remains to develop mechanical joining systems for thinner and lighter materials, especially when lightweight parts are also becoming more flexible in many cases.
EJOT’s product range responded accordingly with the development of products such as the EVO PT® self-tapping thread-forming screw. The latest generation of PT, which revolutionized fastening in thermoplastics in the 1970s, the EVO PT® has the advantage of an optimized, point and depth-independent screw-in torque, which enables a uniform tightening torque for different screw lengths in production.
Another technology with great EV potential that is already being used in the automotive sector for conventional vehicles is EJOWELD® – a friction welding system developed in collaboration with a German premium car manufacturer who wanted to reduce the weight of conventional vehicle designs. The solution was to use high-strength boron steel as the core structure for the body-in-white, offering extreme strength benefits in a much thinner material than those traditionally used. Therefore, the solution required a new approach to joining secondary parts to the main body, which led to the development of EJOWELD.®.
Looking ahead to the future, with more and more electric vehicles on the road, the company is keen to be able to charge quickly, economically and at multiple locations. The EVO PT from EJOT® Screws are already being used here, and up to 50 fastening elements are installed in domestic wall charging stations.
