New M3000 installed

Hirst Magnetic Instruments have just installed one of the new M3000 range magnetisers at Magtec, as part of a production solution for magnetising of their electric vehicle rotors. 

Magnetic Systems Technology Ltd (Magtec), based in Rotherham UK, has been a zero-emission innovator for the last 30 years and is the largest UK manufacturer of electric drive systems for commercial vehicles. Magtec designs and manufactures electric drive systems and components for a wide range of vehicle types including off-road multi-wheeled and tracked military vehicles. Magtec was the winner of Sheffield Maker Manufacturing Company of the Year award held at the Sheffield Business Award 2022, provided by unLTD and Sheffield Chamber of Commerce.

This equipment was identified and acquired on the back of a project funded by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) that started in 2020 and is due to finish in 2023. 

Magtec is the Project Lead with a consortium including two leading transport sector OEMs for project and industrial steer, and two High Value Manufacturing Centres (HVMCs) in technology development and research support.

The aim of the project is to enable production scale-up of electric vehicle traction motors. Investigations of critical build processes were carried out to incorporate best-in-class techniques and develop bespoke solutions. It was realised that the old machinery was obsolescent and there was high business continuity risk. The new equipment would bring Magtec technology up to date, improved semi-automated functionality, and digitisation.

Hirst design engineers worked closely with Magtec on this project to ensure our solution met all their needs to provide the correct magnetisation on their rotors.

The system is based around a modular M3000 magnetiser, with a custom room interlock, datalogging, and remote controls to suit the layout of the production facility.

The magnetiser interfaces seamlessly with their existing production fixtures, capturing peak current on each discharge, and storing information in an SQL database.

Hirst’s dedicated installation and service team were on site to commission the equipment and to perform final validation checks on newly magnetised rotors, ensuring another happy customer.

Find out more about Hirst’s range of magnetisers here:

Magtec project link on APC website: