Lower-Energy Epoxy Powder Coatings Target Electric Motor Insulation
Need to Know
- Two epoxy powder coating grades are being developed for insulation of automotive motor coil ends.
- One grade can be transported and stored at 10–35 °C, while a second can cure at 130 °C.
- Both products are under customer evaluation, and only the room-temperature-storage grade currently has a stated expected launch date.
Sumitomo Bakelite Co. Ltd. has developed two epoxy powder coating grades for electrical insulation of coil ends in automotive motors.
The room-temperature-storage grade, ECP-383KA, is designed to eliminate the refrigerated transportation and storage required for the company’s conventional products in this application. Conventional grades must be kept below 10 °C, while the development grade can be transported and stored between 10 and 35 °C.
The second grade, ECP-382WA, is designed to reduce energy use during coating cure. Sumitomo Bakelite said the material cures at 130 °C, compared with 160–200 °C for its conventional coil-end insulation powders. The company said it optimized the curing agents and resins to maintain insulation and cure performance at the lower temperature.
Both materials are solvent-free powder coatings and contain no VOCs. Sumitomo Bakelite also reports adhesion, electrical insulation, mechanical strength, uniform coverage and film-thickness control suited to complex motor components. Those performance statements are company claims and have not been independently verified by PCI.
The products are being evaluated by multiple customers for electric-vehicle and electric vertical takeoff and landing applications. The room-temperature-storage grade is expected to launch in 2030. Sumitomo Bakelite did not provide a commercial launch date for the low-temperature-curing grade.
Learn more about the epoxy powder coating development and its intended motor-insulation applications in Sumitomo Bakelite’s technical announcement.
The development is relevant to coatings manufacturers and finishers following powder coatings, low-temperature cure and electrical-insulation applications.
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