Horizons Customer Magazine 2026
Smaller, More Efficient Motors for EVs and Beyond
Markus Lock
Head of R&D and Engineering Feintool System Parts
Silke Krauss
Sales Manager, Feintool System Parts Stamping
The manufacturing process redefining the precision of rotors and stators is not just a win for EV powertrains. Its applications extend to other motors within the car, and a growing number of industrial applications.
We live in a world that demands more and more from e-motors. We have all seen this in the arrival and rapid acceptance of electric vehicles, a product for which the electric motor is key. However, EVs are the most visible example of a theme running all through the advance of machinery today. From scooters to construction equipment to HVAC systems to the latest generation of robots, motors that are smaller, lighter and at the same time more power-efficient promise new capabilities, greater mobility or a better experience for the user.
Within Feintool’s electrolamination (motor manufacturing) group, we are ready to meet the changing needs of motors through rotor and stator production capabilities including stamping, casting and in-tool lamination—as well as a proprietary joining technology, glulock®, which extends the possibilities for motor efficiency, quietness and compactness even further.
While all of Feintool’s rotor and stator manufacturing capabilities continue to advance, the application range of glulock® is growing wider as motor performance demands and the economics of motor manufacturing continue to change. We help customers see this. For vehicle and equipment makers of various types (some described below), the time has come when a change in motor manufacturing can deliver transformative change to their motorized hardware applications.
Seen here is an automatic application of bonding adhesive in an automated rotor/stator production process employing glulock®.
glulock®: Thinner Layers and Tighter Air Gap for Rotors and Stators
glulock® is a motor manufacturing process unique to Feintool delivering rotors and stators that are more efficient and/or smaller in size than comparable rotors and stators made through traditional stamping. In place of mechanical joining, glulock® uses the precise placement of engineered adhesive to bond the laminations or layers in a rotor or stator stack.
The adhesive joining enables various improvements. Laminations can be thinner and lighter. While approximately 0.3 mm is the minimum lamination thickness for most common processes, laminations joined by glulock® adhesive can be a thin as 0.1 mm. In addition, stamping itself produces deformation that leads to electromagnetic losses. By comparison, the more parallel layers of the glulock® rotor or stator allow for as much as 15% greater efficiency compared to most common processes for rotor and stator of the same motor size.
The experience of the EV powertrain supplier to a major automaker demonstrates what these advantages can mean. A company turned to Feintool to employ glulock® to hold demanding tolerance specifications for the air gap between rotor and stator laminations in an EV traction motor. Other production methods were failing to hold the required precision. But in the course of succeeding with glulock®, this supplier also discovered the motor efficiency gain resulting from precision adhesive bonding. Thanks to the improvement in power output, six layers could be eliminated from the motor design, so that the motor operating in the car today is smaller, lighter and cheaper than the motor design the automaker had been prepared to adopt.
Could data centers be the most impactful application of advanced motor production? Better data center cooling via more capable motors will aid the advance of AI.
Powertain motors for electric vehicles remain a core market for glulock®, and we continue to work with automakers to help them optimize performance using this technology.
However, the performance gains are more widely available as well. Other motor applications face performance demands glulock® can meet, or size and efficiency barriers glulock® can overcome. This applies both to secondary motors in the car and motor applications unrelated to automotive. Meanwhile, increasing costs for overseas manufacturing coupled with protectionist trade policies are elevating the price of conventional, off-the-shelf motors to the point that specifying a motor to take advantage of advanced technology is now more economical by comparison.
With an eye on these trends, we are preparing for glulock® to deliver production of not just other motors within cars, but also motors in applications far removed from automotive.
Rotors and stators made via glulock® can be as much as 15% more efficient than a comparable motor made conventionally because of the more precise placement and parallelism of the laminations, reducing electromagnetic losses from distortion.
Motor Applications Poised to Win with Improved Size and Performance
Here are some of the other motor applications where we expect glulock® to deliver transformative performance or even new possibilities for the product. In various cases, we are already in conversation with likely potential users to help glulock® realize solutions in applications such as these:
Automotive e-booster. The supplementary power system available in some new-model cars requires a motor able to deliver high torque while fitting within a narrow design space in the car. glulock® is an ideal solution for this demanding power-to-size ratio.
Automotive cabin air. The blower fan for the car’s air conditioning is the automotive motor application the driver and passengers experience the most directly. The precision of glulock® can make this motor’s operation quieter than it has ever been.
HVAC. Motor efficiency is crucial to cooling because any motor loss represents heat not removed from the system. glulock® will help HVAC engineers realize systems that deliver greater cooling output per unit of energy. Of all the applications described, this one might ultimately be the most impactful. Because data centers rely extensively on cooling systems as part of their operation, and because artificial intelligence is driving data center demand, more capable cooling through more efficient motors might aid the advance of AI.
Robots and automation. The more extensive reliance on robots and other loading, transfer and placement systems makes the bulk of these systems increasingly important concerns for plant floorspace, while their efficiency is an increasingly important factor in overall energy use. glulock® can deliver lighter or more sustainable automation.
Construction equipment. The advantages of electrification for cars apply to off-road vehicles as well. Motors able to deliver more power for their size will make electrification increasingly accessible for heavy machinery such as construction equipment.
Pumps. With glulock® enabling greater efficiency and therefore longer operating life per battery charge, field-deployed equipment such as portable pumps can run longer.
Hand tools. By using glulock® to enable the same power output from a motor that is now smaller, handheld power tools can be made lighter.
E-bikes. These personal mobility vehicles are still improving, and stand to become even more appealing to riders as motor improvements reduce their weight and extend their range.
How glulock® Advances Motor Manufacturing
glulock® is a patented adhesive bonding technology for rotors and stators. Instead of conventional mechanical joining of laminations, which can distort the layers and degrade electromagnetic performance, glulock® uses a precise pattern of adhesive dots to join a rotor or stator stack. This allows for maximum parallelism of the laminations and the minimum ratio of air gap to metal within the stack. Using glulock® also permits thinner laminations, as thin as 0.1 mm versus the minimum thickness of 0.3 mm generally needed for joining via stamping. All of this delivers a performance improvement over conventional motors that can translate to as much as 15% greater efficiency. Or, the improvement can translate to a smaller and lighter motor able to deliver the same power output as a conventionally produced motor requiring a larger volume.
A recent next step for the glulock® technology employs a “multiple dots” system to apply glue not only to the yoke of rotor and stator laminations, but also to the teeth, a much smaller target demanding tight precision. With fine control of the adhesive placement, it can even be applied to create a continuous seal to contain coolant, allowing for integrated cooling of the motor.
glulock® produces rotor and stator stacks using the precise application of an engineered adhesive. Motor components made this way then cure at room temperature, no oven needed.
