Needle winding for distributed round-wire-windings without the use of insulation disks

Automotive traction drives require primarily high degrees of efficiency and high power densities. Therefore one main goal in the production of electric traction drives is the minimization of the end windings. End windings are necessary, however, they do not add to the power transformation and in addition they increase the space and the copper losses. In the serial production of distributed round-wire-windings the insertion technology is mainly used. An alternative to this production method is the needle winding technology. In the recent past several concepts for distributed windings have been developed and published using so called “end disks” or “insulation disks” [1], [2], [3], [4]. Insulation disks offer advantages concerning process automation, however, they lead to a considerable increase of the height of the end windings. In order to make the needle winding technology applicable for automotive traction applications this paper presents a new concept for distributed windings without the use of insulation disks.