A rotor for the i-DCD drive motor
Daido Steel Co., Ltd. and Honda Motor Co., Ltd. became
the world's first companies to achieve practical application of a
hot deformed neodymium magnet containing no heavy rare earth(1) and
yet with high heat resistance properties and high magnetic
performance required for the use in the driving motor of a hybrid
vehicle. This heavy rare earth-free hot deformed neodymium magnet
will be applied first to the all-new Honda FREED, scheduled to go
on sale this fall.
Background
Neodymium magnets have the highest magnetic force among all magnets
in the world and are being used for the drive motors of electric
vehicles including hybrid vehicles, and therefore demand for
neodymium magnets are expected to grow exponentially in the
future.
For use in the drive motors of electric vehicles, neodymium magnets
must have high heat resistance properties as they are used in a
high temperature environment. Adding heavy rare earth (dysprosium
and/or terbium) to the neodymium magnets has been a conventional
method to secure such high heat resistance.
However, major deposits of heavy rare earth elements are unevenly
around the world, and also are categorized as rare metals; thus,
the use of heavy rare earth carries risks from the perspectives of
stable procurement and material costs. Therefore, a reduction in
the use of heavy rare earth elements has been one of the major
challenges needing to be addressed in order to use neodymium
magnets for the drive motors of hybrid vehicles.
New development
Daido Electronics Co., Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Daido
Steel, has been mass-producing neodymium magnets using the hot
deformation method, which is different from the typical sintering
production method for neodymium magnets. The hot deformation method
is a technology that enables nanometer-scale crystal grains to be
well-aligned in order to realize a fine crystal grain structure
that is approximately ten times smaller than that of a sintered
magnet, which makes it possible to produce magnets with greater
heat resistance properties.
This time, Daido Steel and Honda jointly developed new neodymium
magnets while Daido Steel further evolved its hot deformation
technologies and Honda leveraged its experience in development of
drive motors and revised the shape of the magnet. Through these
joint development efforts, the two companies achieved, for the
first time in the world, a practical application of a neodymium
magnet which contains absolutely no heavy rare earth yet has high
heat resistance and high magnetic performance suitable for use in
the drive motor of hybrid vehicles.
Moreover, Honda designed a new motor which accommodates this new
magnet. In addition to the shape of the magnet, Honda revised the
shape of the rotor to optimize the flow of the magnetic flux of the
magnet. As a result, the hot deformed neodymium magnet that
contains absolutely no heavy rare earth became usable for the drive
motor of a hybrid vehicle, demonstrating torque, output and heat
resistance performance equivalent to those of a motor that uses the
conventional type of magnet.
Benefit of this Technology
Adoption of this technology enables a break from the constraints
associated with heavy rare earth, which had been one of the
challenges to expanding the use of neodymium magnets. This
technology will make it possible to avoid resource-related risks
and diversify channels of procurement.
Next Steps
Honda
Honda will first apply this hot deformed neodymium magnet with
absolutely no heavy rare earth to the Honda SPORT HYBRID i-DCD(2),
a hybrid system Honda will adopt for the all-new FREED scheduled to
go on sale this fall. Honda will continue expanding application of
this technology to new models in the future.
Daido Steel
With the newly-developed hot deformed neodymium magnet, Daido Steel
will make a new entry into the market for magnets used for drive
motors of hybrid vehicles, which has been basically monopolized by
sintered neodymium magnets. Starting next month, August 2016, Daido
Electronics will begin the mass-production and shipment of this
magnet using a new production line that the company built in its
factory (located in Nakatsugawa City in Gifu Prefecture in Japan)
using a subsidy(3) received from the Japanese Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry (METI).
Moreover, Daido Steel will continue pursuing the development of
heavy rare earth-free magnets with further improved properties.
Furthermore, Daido Steel has been procuring magnetic powder, the
raw material for magnets, from Magnequench International Inc.
(located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada), and Daido Steel will work
together with Magnequench to develop new types of raw magnetic
powders for the purpose of realizing enhanced magnetic
properties.
(1) Heavy rare earth is one of three (light, medium and heavy)
categories of rare earth.
(2) i-DCD stands for Intelligent Dual Clutch Drive
(3) The subsidy METI offered in 2012 to promote investments in
advanced facilities and equipment which help address the issues of
yen appreciation and energy constraints
About Honda
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (TSE:7267/NYSE:HMC/LSE:HNDA) is one of the
leading manufacturers of automobiles and power products and the
largest manufacture of motorcycles in the world. Honda has always
sought to provide genuine satisfaction to people worldwide. The
result is more than 120 manufacturing facilities in 30 countries
worldwide, producing a wide range of products, including
motorcycles, ATVs, generators, marine engines, lawn and garden
equipment and automobiles that bring the company into contact with
over 19 million customers annually. For more information, please
visit http://world.honda.com.
Source: Honda
Contact:
Honda
Media Inquiries
corporate_pr@hm.honda.co.jp
+81-3-5412-1512
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