Hybrid additive manufacturing assisted prototyping

A connection support for a stator assembly, comprising:

• a plurality of substrates each including a polymeric material, wherein the plurality of substrates includes:
• a first substrate including a first main body and a protrusion extending from the first main body, wherein the protrusion is elastically deformable;
• and
• a second substrate including a second main body, wherein the second substrate defines a recess in the second main body, the recess is elastically deformable, and the protrusion is disposed inside the recess to form an elastic averaging coupling;
• and
• a plurality of electrically conductive components coupled to the plurality of substrates.

A method for creating a connection support for a stator assembly, comprising:

• creating a plurality of substrates of the connection support using material jet 3D printing, wherein:
• each of the plurality of substrates includes a polymeric material;
• the plurality of substrates includes a first substrate and a second substrate;
• the first substrate includes a first main body and defines a protrusion extending from the first main body;
• and
• the second substrate includes a second main body and defines a recess defined in the second main body;
• coupling the first substrate to the second substrate by inserting the protrusion into the recess such that the protrusion elastically deforms to an elastically averaged configuration to facilitate alignment and coupling of the first substrate to the second substrate, wherein the protrusion and the recess together form an elastic averaging coupling;
• creating a plurality of electrically conductive components using electron-beam melting after creating the plurality of substrates;
• and
• coupling the plurality of electrically conductive components to the plurality of substrates.