Chad Furey · Principal engineer
Electric motor
design.
Motor design, controls, and testing.
I design electric motors, develop their controls, and test them on the dyno. I also work with teams whose existing motor is too hot, too noisy, difficult to manufacture, or falling short of its predicted performance.
The electromagnetic model, the drive software, and the manufactured motor all need to describe the same machine. My work covers all three.
Choosing between an existing motor, a custom design, and different motor-and-gearbox combinations.
Illustrative trade study; synthetic concepts, not a product optimization result.
Areas of expertise
Choosing, designing, and testing electric motors.
Sometimes an off-the-shelf motor is the right answer. Sometimes the winding, cooling, controls, or gearbox needs another look. These are the parts of motor development I work on.
Application requirements ↔ machine architecture
Does this application need a custom motor?
- Does an electric motor make sense for the customer need, and could an off-the-shelf solution meet the immediate requirement?
- Axial or radial flux? Direct drive or a gearbox? Which trade-offs matter over the actual duty cycle?
- Would planetary, worm, helical, or spur gearing best fit the package, efficiency, cost, and noise requirements?
Design and validation
The model needs to agree
with the machine.
I have spent more than 10,000 hours on test benches proving my designs work as modeled. I use that experience from the first sizing calculation, with manufacturing tolerances, cooling conditions, and inverter limits in mind.
If measured torque is low, I check the current, rotor angle, temperature, and test setup before changing the motor geometry. A useful test separates the possible causes and tells us what to change next.
Background
Chad Furey
Founder & principal engineer, Furey Motors
More than 15 years designing electric machines, with experience across automotive, motorsports, industrial, and energy applications.
- Design experience
- 15+ years
- Test-bench experience
- 10,000+ hours
Program experience
- Formula 1
- Formula E
- Tesla Model 3
- Tesla Model S
At Furey Motors, I work directly with the engineers designing, building, and testing the motor. I can work through the magnetic design, the current regulator, and the test data with the same team.
Tell me about your motor
What does it need to do, and what is getting in the way?