What’s new in Simcenter E-Machine Design and EMAG solutions – Breaking down Silos with a streamlined e-motor design process
In the world of e-machine design and development, time is always the enemy. As the sun rises on another day at an e-mobility company, three engineers from different departments gather around a conference table, faces tense. The prototype deadline looms just weeks away, but a critical design change has thrown their timeline into chaos.
“We need to modify the axial flux design to address the thermal issues,” explains Elena, the thermal specialist. “But recreating the electromagnetic model in our simulation tool will take at least two weeks—time we simply don’t have.”
This scenario plays out daily across the industry. While the world races toward electrification, the tools and processes used to design these critical components often remain fragmented across disciplines, creating invisible walls between the very teams that need to collaborate most closely.
The Hidden Cost of Disconnected Design
When Michael, an electrical engineer, spends weeks perfecting an e-motor design in a dedicated tool like Simcenter E-Machine Design, his work represents just the beginning of a much longer journey. For that design to become reality, it must undergo a detailed design validation as well as thermal validation, structural analysis, and NVH testing—each requiring the model to be painstakingly recreated in different simulation environments.
“I once spent three months just recreating an axial flux machine template in 3D for a more detailed analysis,” recalls Michael. “That’s three months of innovation time lost to what amounts to digital paperwork.”
This disconnect doesn’t just waste time—it fundamentally limits how teams can collaborate. When each model recreation takes weeks, the rapid back-and-forth iteration that drives innovation becomes impossible. Engineers make conservative design choices simply because they can’t afford the time to explore alternatives.
Weaving the Digital Thread
Imagine instead a world where Michael’s meticulously crafted e-motor design flows effortlessly between tools and teams—where a single click sends the complete model, with all its complexity, directly into the next simulation environment Elena uses.
This is precisely what the new model transfer capability across the Simcenter portfolio now delivers. It’s not just a feature—it’s the digital thread that weaves together previously disconnected tools disciplines.
When Michael finishes optimizing his axial flux machine design in Simcenter E-Machine Design—after exploring hundreds of variants in just hours rather than weeks thanks to its equivalent circuit approach —he no longer needs to create a 3D model for validation or to package up documentation and specifications for the thermal and mechanical teams. Instead, he simply transfers the complete model to Simcenter 3D or Simcenter STAR-CCM+ with a single action.
Elena receives not just data or specifications, but a solver-ready 3D model, complete with proper mesh and simulation setup. What once took weeks now happens in moments. The geometry, materials, and electromagnetic properties transfer intact—even complex features like skew and end-windings that would be particularly time-consuming to recreate manually.
From Concept to Validation in a Single Day
This connected approach transforms what’s possible in e-motor development. Consider a typical morning: An engineering team identifies a new axial flux machine concept. By lunch, they’ve used Simcenter E-Machine Design to explore 500 potential configurations, optimizing for efficiency and performance.
By mid-afternoon, they’ve transferred the most promising design to Simcenter 3D for detailed electromagnetic analysis. And before leaving for the day, they’ve already begun structural validation using the exact same model—no recreation, no simplification, no delay.
Meanwhile, the thermal team has received the same model in Simcenter STAR-CCM+, where they’re coupling electromagnetic and cooling simulations to validate the design under realistic operating conditions. Questions that arise can be addressed immediately because everyone is working with the same digital representation of the motor.
The Human Impact
Beyond the technical capabilities, this seamless transfer changes how engineering teams work together. When Elena discovers a thermal issue that requires design modification, she no longer dreads the weeks of delay that would follow. Instead, Michael can implement changes in the electromagnetic design tool, and within hours, Elena can validate whether the changes resolved the thermal concern.
For engineering managers overseeing these multidisciplinary teams, the impact is transformative. Projects that once required careful sequencing with long handover periods can now proceed with teams working in parallel, collaborating in near real-time. Design iterations that were previously impossible due to time constraints become routine, leading to better-optimized products.
Connecting Today’s Innovation to Tomorrow’s Success
This capability—available now in the latest Simcenter E-Machine Design 2506 release—represents more than just a time-saving feature. It embodies a fundamental shift in how e-drive systems are developed, connecting the digital thread from initial concept through detailed validation across all disciplines.
For companies racing to bring the next generation of electric vehicles to market, this connected approach doesn’t just accelerate development—it enables entirely new levels of productivity and innovation that weren’t previously possible when teams worked in isolation.
As our three engineers leave their meeting with a new plan in place, there’s a palpable sense of relief. The design changes will be implemented, validated across disciplines, and ready for prototype manufacturing—all within the original timeline. What once seemed impossible has become simply another day’s work in the connected world of Simcenter tools.
