The rapid spread of coronavirus from a provincial city in China shed light on several corporations’ dependencies on a particular supplier. Supply-chain management systems experienced severe vulnerabilities and the ensuing panic initiated a downturn in economic markets, worldwide.
Automakers and manufacturers, who needed to shut down productions, were impacted heavily as well.
But Fort Worth-based Linear Labs says its motor production would come out of any such supply chain turbulence unscathed.
Linear Labs is a manufacturer of a patented smart electric motor called Hunstable Electric Turbine (HET), which promises to produces three times the power density, two times the output per given motor size and minimum 10% more range as compared to the top permanent magnet motors on the current market.
The motor can be designed and made from easily accessible materials. All raw materials and components needed for HET manufacturing are locally accessible and available around the globe, creating a regionally agnostic supply chain, according to the company.
“Our motors can be made right here in the U.S.A., in Europe, in South America, in Asia, or in any locality,” said Brad Hunstable, founder and CEO of Linear Labs. “The raw materials can be sourced, the components can be built, and the product can be assembled, literally anywhere.”
Halting production that could have a reverberating impact on rest of the supply chain, Detroit automakers Ford, General Motors, and Fiat-Chrysler has closed down all their North American factories since earlier in March. The GM plant in Arlington was also a part of the closure.
Other car manufacturers like Nissan, Toyota, Honda and Hyundai have also suspended production at their car factories.
For producing electric motors, most companies rely upon rare-earth minerals such as neodymium and dysprosium for their magnets to produce their required torque. However, Linear Labs’ HET motor does not rely on rare-earth magnets. Instead, it uses ferrite magnets, more affordable and easily available in the market.
HET’s motor coils, which create the essential rotations, are surrounded by like-polarity magnetic materials. Contrary to a regular motor, all the copper in the HET is involved in energy conversion.
According to Linear Labs, its technology is reproducible by suppliers in nearly any geographic location.
“We have a clear manufacturing advantage against our competitors who rely on resources from a singular region, Hunstable said. “This has benefits for all the diverse industries we’re integrated with, including EVs, robotics, HVAC and micro-mobility. The electronics, copper and magnets we use can be manufactured within a completely regional supply chain anywhere in the world. It increases efficiency in production while also providing strength against global disruption of resources.”
Linear Labs is building a new manufacturing facility at AllianceTexas in Fort Worth. The long-term manufacturing plant is expected to create more than 3,000 high-tech jobs in the region.