Applications Load Cell | Battery Manufacturing Automation

Battery Manufacturing Automation Process | FUTEK

Battery Manufacturing Automation and Force Sensors

The rapid worldwide shift in the energy matrix has prompted global economies to race to reduce the reliance on the fossil fuel industry, given its carbon footprint and emissions as well as all the geopolitical tensions caused by the oil and gas industry.

The electric mobility industry is increasing the necessity for battery production on an unprecedented scale. It is expected that lithium-ion battery solutions will overtake the combustion engine as the dominant solution for vehicle power sources in the near future. With the EV industry's robust anticipated growth, comes along the necessity to build efficient and high-throughput EV batteries factories and production lines. FUTEK force and torque sensors are important components of these new initiatives, as advanced measurement solutions are paramount to ensure in-process inspection, battery manufacturing process closed-loop force & torque control, and mechanical testing for quality control.

Control and precision for battery production
From the slurry preparation to final mechanical testing, FUTEK has suitable sensor solutions for the entire battery production process. In battery manufacturing, high yield and repeatability are just as important as cost-effective solutions. This is true for many different process steps, from slurry mixing, calendaring, and electrode precise slitting and force-controlled applications.

Without precise measurement and control of process variables, the battery manufacturing process may be inconsistent, resulting in quality issues, process inefficiencies, and loss of production. FUTEK's extensive sensor portfolio allows process control engineers to develop automated solutions to most of the battery manufacturing processes, including:

Slurry Preparation and Mixing;
Coating & Drying;
Calendering;
Electrodes Slitting / Cutting / Punching;
Electrode Winding / Stacking;
Battery Tab Welding;
Battery Mechanical Testing;

How it Works

Slurry Preparation - Batch Bin Weighing
Battery cell raw materials are expensive and represent more than 50% of the total production costs. Weighing the batch bin is an alternate approach to determining moisture content and is key to providing uniformity and traceability. FUTEK’s LLB Load Button Series can be utilized in manufacturing batch weighing applications. Installed at the base of each leg of the slurry container, these compression-based Load Buttons will measure the contents of the container as it increases and decreases.
Slurry Mixing – Material Mixer Torque Measurement
Battery slurries are fluid matter containing a large percentage of solid particles of different chemicals, sizes, and shapes in a highly viscous media. Measuring and controlling the slurry viscosity is key for the process stability, ease of mixing, and coating performance, which impact finished electrodes. Determining the viscosity and rheological properties measurements of the slurry requires a mixer with an embedded rheometer. In this case, a rheometer with a rotational cylinder is used to measure slurry shear at various rotational velocities. Accomplishing this requires a torque sensor to measure torque generated as the slurry is mixed. A TFF Series Reaction Torque Sensor is mounted along the mixing agitator axle cylinder holding the slurry undergoing analysis by the viscometer.
Coating, Drying, and Calendering – Belt Rollers Tension Control
Maintaining the correct level of tension on web materials is critical to ensure quality and minimize material breakage and other battery manufacturing process issues that can lead to unplanned downtime. Battery manufacturing machines require high-quality tension control components to ensure increased machine capabilities, wider operating ranges, and better process control. FUTEK’s QLA132 is a Custom Roller Tension Shear Force Load Cell for both closed-loop and open-loop tension control. This model can be further customized according to your roller tension measurement needs.
Electrode Slitting / Punching – Cutting Force Measurement
After coating and calendaring, the battery electrodes are winded in a roll. They must be cut to the desired shape and small dimensions of the cells. Slitting or cutting is a delicate process with a precise requirement for electrode width, edge flatness, and burrs. In this process, the cut must be clean to avoid any cell malfunction. The LCF300 Pancake Load Cell is a miniature universal load cell. It is a low-profile sensor that is extremely accurate and fatigue-resistant.
Tab Welding Force Measurement
Resistance welding has been used in the battery manufacturing industry for almost 4 decades. Most recently, the application of displacement and electrode force measurement provides manufacturers with the ability to monitor and closed loop feedback control tools to fine-tune the tab welding process to ensure both high quality and yield. FUTEK LLB300 Load Button can be employed as a force-sensing device to provide force feedback to the tab welding automation system.
Pouch Cell Mechanical Testing
During charging and discharging, the cell pouches swell or expand. Through testing, the lithium-ion battery expands, and the LLB Compression Load Button Load Cell measures the swelling force upon the end plates as the battery cell expands, allowing the evaluation of the stress on battery cells during charge/discharge cycles. The LCF450 Pancake Load Cell can also be employed as an alternative model for Pouch Cell Mechanical Testing.