Pressing the aluminum motor housing; material specification for the motor housing
Category： Industry News
Typically, the casings of small generators are made from cast steel, while those of large generators are fabricated by welding steel plates. The materials commonly used for motor casings include cast iron, cast aluminum alloy, structural steel (steel tubing), and steel plates. In China, low-power motors generally employ cast iron, cast aluminum alloy, or structural steel (steel tubing) casings. This results in substantial machining volumes, numerous processing steps, and extended production cycles; moreover, working conditions are poor, labor intensity is high, and there is significant waste of energy and materials.
Typically, the casings of small generators are made from cast steel, while those of large generators are fabricated by welding steel plates.
The materials commonly used for motor casings include cast iron, cast aluminum alloy, structural steel (steel tubing), and steel plate. In China, low-power motors typically employ cast iron, cast aluminum alloy, or structural steel (steel tubing) casings. This results in substantial machining volumes, numerous processing steps, and extended production cycles; operators work in poor hygienic conditions and endure high physical exertion; moreover, there is significant waste of energy and materials.
Internationally, developed countries such as Germany, Canada, and Japan have been extensively using steel frame housings since the mid-20th century. This new type of housing manufacturing process is a highly efficient, low-waste machining method. In China, several motor manufacturers began researching the production of steel plate housings in the early 1970s and achieved small-scale batch production by the mid-1980s. However, the conventional process employed at the time—cutting with shears, followed by pressing into “U”-shaped (or “W”-shaped) and then “O”-shaped profiles, subsequent manual or CO₂-shielded arc welding, polishing, turning, and final shaping of eight individual components (for baseless housings)—involved a wide variety of equipment and relied heavily on human factors, resulting in a high proportion of quality variability and making it difficult to ensure consistent product quality.
At present, several developed countries have widely adopted dedicated machining equipment for manufacturing steel-plate motor casings, achieving a high degree of mechanization and automation and ensuring superior quality. In some of these countries, small-power motors on the market are now predominantly equipped with steel-plate casings. As early as 1989, China began pilot production of specialized equipment for manufacturing steel-plate motor casings, including single machines such as steel-plate casing rolling machines and steel-plate casing welding machines. In recent years, however, material prices have risen sharply and the domestic motor market has remained sluggish. To reduce motor manufacturing costs, improve the quality of steel-plate motor casings, and enable Chinese small-power motors to enter and capture a foothold in the motor markets of developed countries, it is imperative to conduct research into new manufacturing processes for steel-plate motor casings.
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