With governments around the world driving the need for CO2 reduction for many years, culminating in a global shift towards commercial electrification, EJOT UK offers an extensive product offering bringing strength and lightweight benefits to the electric vehicle market.
EJOT’s dominant market for industrial engineering threadforming screws is historically automotive, largely driven by its product portfolio based on a foundation of parts rationalisation; reducing the number of fastening products in assemblies; allied with higher joint strength performance. In Germany, the company’s development teams have also been working with vehicle manufacturers and academic institutions as part of the ongoing process towards electrification.
The obvious mechanical difference between combustion driven vehicles and Electric Vehicles (EVs) is that the latter has no conventional powertrain, which is instead replaced with a motor and electric control unit (ECU).
“We are seeing a shift in product deployment across the range. For example, the escalation in the need for printed microcircuit boards, usually set into a light aluminium casting, is the domain of EJOT’s micro screw range. These threadforming screws provide the performance at a miniaturised level that designers would normally expect to achieve with much larger screws, as an alternative to soldering, gluing, clipping or welding,” comments Steve Wynn, UK sales manager for industrial fastening solutions, EJOT.
Meanwhile, EJOT’s ALtracs® Plus threadforming screws offer great potential for EV applications as they act as heat sinks, removing heat that is dispersing throughout the system, whilst providing a strong and vibration resistant join.
One vehicle manufacturer uses the ALtracs® Plus threadforming screws to secure the PCB onto a heat sink so the screw assists with the heat transfer, while another major German manufacturer uses it for the connector housing for DC adaptors, as well as the HV/LV filter in the vehicle’s power electronics and WR and PWRDC/DC units. ALtracs® Plus is also used alongside the EJOT Delta PT® screw for fastening the battery back and WR DC/DC unit by another automotive manufacturer.
Engineering for the EV sector is largely dominated by the need to build lighter and stronger parts, and in turn this has led to the advancement of many new engineering materials. Carbon fibre is one such material, sought after for its light weight, versatility and high strength.
“It was initially thought that new materials required for EV construction would make adhesive solutions a more attractive, dominant approach to fastening and they would gain the market share,” explains Steve. “However, while this has partially become 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 key challenge continues to be designing mechanical joining systems for thinner and more lightweight materials, particularly when parts that are lightweight also become more flexible in many cases.
EJOT’s product range has responded accordingly with the development of products such as the EVO PT® self-tapping threadforming screw. The latest generation of the PT, which revolutionised fastening into thermoplastics back in the 1970s, the EVO PT® has the benefit of an optimised locating point and depth independent installation torque, which enables a uniform tightening torque in production at different screw lengths.
Another technology with great EV potential that is already used by the automotive sector for conventional vehicles is EJOWELD® – a friction weld system that was developed in conjunction with a premium German vehicle manufacturer who sought to take weight out of traditional vehicle design. The solution was to deploy high strength boron steel as the core structure for ‘body in white’ structures, a move that offered extreme strength benefits in a much thinner material than those traditionally used. As such, the solution demanded a new approach to joining secondary allots to the main vehicle body, culminating in the development of EJOWELD®.
Looking to the future, with more EVs becoming commonplace on roads, the need to charge with speed, economically, and in multiple locations, is an area the company is keen to be involved with. EJOT’s EVO PT® screws are already being deployed in this area, with up to 50 fastening elements used in home wall charging stations.
Having spent a decade in the fastener industry experiencing every facet – from steel mills, fastener manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, as well as machinery builders and plating + coating companies, Claire has developed an in-depth knowledge of all things fasteners.
Alongside visiting numerous companies, exhibitions and conferences around the world, Claire has also interviewed high profile figures – focusing on key topics impacting the sector and making sure readers stay up to date with the latest developments within the industry.
