The challenge
When designing an EDM for its new electric vehicle fleet, a leading automaker struggled to produce a high-flowing pressure relief valve (PRV) that could reliably control oil flow for demand-based cooling and lubrication.
Its in-house poppet-style valve cracked open unreliably and could not meet the precise pressure requirements needed for the application. With a planned design freeze occurring in just one month’s time, the OEM looked to The Lee Company to provide a production intent solution in order to offset scheduling delays and get their EDM back on track.
The solution
The Lee engineering team met with the OEM to discuss their challenges and devise an appropriate solution utilising The Lee Company's field-proven high-flow pressure relief valves.
In order to maintain pump efficiencies within their EDM, the OEM needed a pressure relief valve (PRV) that could remain completely closed under normal operation to allow the pump to run efficiently at a lower flow rate, and then crack open in a tight pressure band to provide cooling to a secondary surge flow loop.
The OEM also required a flexible fluid control solution to accommodate multiple EDM design variants and battery electric vehicle (BEV) platforms.
The OEM’s next-generation EDM technology required sophisticated fluid controls to ensure the efficiency of its systems. Lee engineers endeavoured to design, build, and deliver a tailored solution that exceeded the customer’s expectations for utility, performance, and quality – and their accelerated timelines.
The winning design was a variant of the 855 LC2 Series Pressure Relief Valve, Forward Flow tailored specifically to accommodate the application’s required tolerances for pressure and flow rate.
As a part of The Lee Company’s expansive catalogue of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) precision fluid control products, this valve provided a perfect customisation baseline due to its fast response, high flow capacity, and highly repeatable cracking pressures.
Cracking pressure specifications were of critical importance to the OEM as they directly impacted the efficiency of the EDM. While the requested tolerances were tighter than The LeeCompany's standard pressure relief valves – with a tolerance of five percent as compared to the 15 percent that is typical for this valve – The Lee Company was able to modify the valve to help achieve the desired cracking pressures.
The OEM integrated The Lee Company’s pressure relief valve into two initial EDM design variants, totalling hundreds of thousands of valves per year. The pressure relief valves utilised in each design work to divide flow within the EDM.
The Lee Company has supplied a vast range of miniature components that have been field-proven in millions of vehicles around the world. Due to the company’s experience in the automotive industry and extensive catalogue of proven COTS products, the OEM could trust in the engineered solution.
They no longer needed to waste time and in-house resources to design, verify, build, and test miniature hydraulic components to solve their problems. By choosing The Lee Company, the OEM received a 100 percent functionally tested solution in a single assembly. The company's degreed sales engineers provided an innovative technical solution to the OEM’s complex fluidic problem, setting its up for future success in its EDM design.
How can The Lee Company help?
For more than 75 years, The Lee Company has been a leading supplier of miniature, precision fluid control products to a wide range of industries including automotive, diagnostics, medical equipment, scientific instruments, aerospace, oil & gas, and off-highway equipment.
Lee products are recognised worldwide for superior quality, reliability, and performance. If you are searching for a fluid control component for your EV application or other new vehicle technology and would like to learn more about products offered by The Lee Company, click here or contact a Lee Sales Engineer today.