17-year-old builds an electric motor that revolutionized the industry

Robert Sansone, a 17-year-old engineer, seems to have found a way to make electric vehicles even greener. A high school student who has been involved in various engineering projects since childhood, has developed an electric motor that is free from the rare earth magnets used in the engines of these vehicles.. In addition to being expensive, their extraction has environmental disadvantages.

Sansone assures magazine Smithsonian Institution that his interest in electric motors is “natural”, having used them on previous projects. But it wasn’t until he watched a video about the pros and cons of electric vehicles that he realized the production of these components has had an impact on the environment. Mainly because, again, they use rare earth magnets. He set out to solve this sustainability problem and began to wonder about possible alternatives. Among them is the use of synchronous reluctance motors.

synchronous reluctance motors, although they are more environmentally friendly, they do not achieve the necessary power to propel an electric vehicle. Instead, they are used in lower power devices such as fans. Thus, the young man’s goal was to make this engine even more powerful, and after a year of development and after 15 attempts, he succeeded.

More powerful, cheaper and more environmentally friendly synchronous reluctance motor.

Tedious copper cables, steel rotor and plastic housing and using a 3D printer, Sansone created a prototype electric motor that achieved higher rotational force than conventional synchronous reluctance motors. His model was also more efficient than the others.

After initial testing, Sansone decided to compare it to a traditional synchronous reluctance motor. He found that at 300 revolutions per minute (RPM), his electric motor reached 39% more torque (torque). In addition, it was 31% more efficient.

At higher speeds, especially at 750 rpm, the rotational force was 37% greater than that of a conventional synchronous reluctance motor. This was, unfortunately, the maximum power that his prototype achieved, since heThe plastic parts have melted due to the heat of the appliance..

Synchronous reluctance motors use copper instead of rare earth magnets and are much cheaper and more affordable. Making an engine case with these characteristics is also cheaper, but not machines designed for this, the costs of which are high. Sansone, however, hopes that “new technologies such as additive manufacturing,” including, for example, the use of 3D printers, will lower costs and make them easier to create in the future.

Meanwhile, the 17-year-old engineer is working on his 16th prototype, which will notably use stronger materials to achieve higher powers. He hopes that one day he will be able to create a stable enough model to present it to a company specializing in the mobile devices sector. And that in the future they will use it for their electric vehicles.