EV battery tray

A tray that had to get lighter without losing stiffness

Nordvik came to us with a welded steel tray that met its load case but cost too much weight in a platform where every kilogram was already allocated. The tooling was paid for, so any change had to justify itself at the program level.

Our engineering review proposed an aluminum weldment with machined mounting interfaces, keeping the existing bolt pattern so the surrounding assembly stayed untouched. First articles ran nine days after drawing approval.

The team also reviewed the manufacturing sequence around welding, machining, coating, and inspection. By keeping the mounting interfaces as controlled machined features, we were able to establish consistent reference points for the final assembly without redesigning the surrounding components.

01) Weight reduction

The aluminum redesign reduced the tray's overall mass while maintaining the required load case, helping the platform meet its weight targets.

02) Existing interfaces

The existing bolt pattern was retained, allowing the new tray to integrate with the surrounding assembly without changing adjacent components.

03) Controlled machining

Mounting interfaces were machined after fabrication to maintain consistent geometry across production parts and support repeatable assembly.

04) Production readiness

The complete process combined laser cutting, fixtured welding, machining, powder coating, and CMM inspection into a controlled production sequence.