Sponsored by Avery Dennison Efficiency Tapes.
Tapes can simplify advanced processes, assist robotic meeting, scale back scrap, and extra.
By Max VanRaaphorst
Globally, greater than 60 million EVs are actually on the highway. It’s a quantity that may have appeared unimaginable only a few years in the past. It underscores how EV OEMs have moved past needing solely to show feasibility, and should now show manufacturability — the power to scale-up quickly whereas maximizing high quality, security and earnings.
The identical holds true for EV and e-mobility batteries. Whereas the expertise continues to evolve, the trail to marketability now goes by way of manufacturing. Successful suppliers might be these that may optimize their manufacturing processes, automate successfully and produce top quality at a low value.
That path could appear daunting. However there are methods out there that may end up in higher high quality and throughput. One such technique is supplies choice, notably that of pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes.
What do PSA tapes provide for battery design?
PSA tapes are a mature, refined and various expertise utilized in a variety of industries, together with automotive and transportation. Relying on its configuration, a tape could characteristic one or two adhesives that bond to a substrate upon the applying of sunshine stress, a facestock that gives dimensional stability and different qualities, and a liner that protects the adhesive till its software.
These versatile tapes can simply slot in tight areas whereas serving to restrict a pack’s general mass. They provide clear and repeatable software and are usually suitable with automated manufacturing processes.
From a producing perspective, such advantages could make PSA tapes an enhanced different option to liquid adhesives, which require treatment time and have variance of their software; and mechanical fasteners, which improve half depend and mass.
PSA tapes will also be personalized to offer qualities that transcend easy bonding. Some examples: Electrically insulative movie facestocks can improve a system’s dielectric safety
technique. Tapes mixed with flame barrier supplies, comparable to mica, can improve thermal safety. Tapes laminated to thick foam facestocks can present shock absorption for delicate elements.
PSA tapes as a design-for-manufacturability answer
Importantly, PSA tapes could be personalized not only for the tip use, however for particular challenges of the manufacturing course of itself. That is the essence of DFM.
The very fact is, battery manufacturing is very advanced at a number of ranges. Cell, module and pack manufacturing contain totally different substrates, tight tolerances and layered assemblies, and electrical and thermal administration necessities. Wasteful manufacturing steps and injury to fragile battery elements are ache factors, and could also be frequent occurrences for producers utilizing conventional bonding and meeting strategies.
How PSA tapes deal with ache factors and optimize battery manufacturing
Enter PSA tapes. Listed below are only a few methods this DFM answer will help optimize battery manufacturing.
PSA tapes scale back course of steps, manufacturing line prices and complexity
Using PSA tapes eliminates among the time-and effort-intensive steps related to conventional bonding and fastening strategies. As talked about earlier, tapes require no treatment time. As soon as adhered, a taped half can transfer instantly to the following step of the manufacturing course of. This protects time and eliminates the necessity for gear comparable to curing ovens, serving to handle CAPEX.
Avery Dennison next-gen Volt PowerfulTM Stretch provides a chief instance of those advantages.
The product is a PSA-tape-based dielectric insulation answer engineered for adhering to flat metallic blanks. These blanks can then be minimize and stamped into no matter shapes are wanted for the battery element’s design. The “stretchability” engineered into the tape prevents the dielectric barrier from tearing or cracking throughout these processes.
Conventional dielectric methods, comparable to powder coating, can add complexity and value to a manufacturing course of whether or not carried out in-house or outsourced. As a PSA tape, next-gen Volt Powerful Stretch can extra simply be utilized inline, manually or robotically, to advertise simplicity and value financial savings.
PSA tapes assist automation and robotic software
By utilizing tape constructions tailor-made to their software and automation strategies, e-mobility producers can design environment friendly and efficient automated processes. PSA tapes assist a number of automation methods, together with pick-and-place of die-cut components, single-pass liner elimination and software, and wide-web lamination for giant elements comparable to cooling plates.
As a result of PSA tape bonding happens instantly upon contact with a substrate, elements are much less prone to shift throughout switch between stations. That is notably essential for layered battery assemblies, the place misalignment can result in electrical clearance points, uneven thermal interfaces and downstream meeting failures.
Dimensional stability is one other plus for PSA tapes utilized robotically. Movie-based carriers comparable to PET resist stretching throughout robotic dealing with and placement, bettering positional accuracy at excessive software speeds. The place assemblies require conformity round edges or uneven surfaces, nonwoven or foam carriers can be utilized to steadiness flexibility with automation compatibility.
For battery producers targeted on scale, PSA tapes engineered for robotic software will help stabilize manufacturing strains, enhance yield and improve general gear effectiveness.
PSA tapes assist handle scrap charges and promote high quality
Many battery supplies are delicate and troublesome to deal with, making them particularly susceptible to break throughout high-speed meeting. PSA tapes could be personalized to assist battery producers restrict these supplies’ contribution to waste and scrap charges.
A typical problem happens throughout liner elimination. Supplies comparable to mica or ceramic paper can tear, delaminate or fracture if subjected to extreme stress and forces.
PSA tape constructions that pair controlled-release liners with appropriately balanced adhesive methods scale back the mechanical stress positioned on these supplies throughout automated or semi-automated elimination. This ends in fewer broken components coming into downstream processes.
Producers comparable to Avery Dennison can nice tune a liner’s elimination power by way of approaches comparable to controlling the discharge method (low, medium or excessive) and/or zone coating the adhesive.
As well as, tapes could be designed for compatibility with imaginative and prescient methods to assist inline high quality checks. Printed liners or pigmented adhesive methods permit automated gear to confirm half presence and placement earlier than the meeting progresses additional down the road. Figuring out defects early permits for elimination of noncompliant components previous to the addition of worth, thus decreasing the full value of scrap.
At scale, such incremental enhancements compound. By decreasing dealing with injury, misalignment and late-stage defects, PSA tapes optimized for battery manufacturing assist enhance general yield whereas lowering manufacturing prices.
Engineering PSA-tape-based DFM options in your manufacturing line
A logical first step in creating PSA-tape options in your manufacturing wants is to find collaborators who can present experience and capabilities it’s possible you’ll not have in-house. The trade is served by a wide range of PSA tape producers who can fulfill this position.
Some questions to think about as you vet tape producers:
- Does the producer have expertise and software experience within the battery trade?
- Does the producer have the R&D capabilities to develop the options I would like?
- Does the producer have the enterprise urge for food to develop personalized options? (Not all do.)
- Does the producer have entry to a community of extra corporations, comparable to tape converters and practical materials producers, who could also be essential to my success?
- Does the tape producer present ongoing assist?
Ideally, this relationship begins early in your product design part. This provides the tape producer most leverage to develop options that work in your manufacturing course of.
My firm, Avery Dennison, collaborates with OEMs and suppliers to tailor PSA-tape-based options to particular cell, module, and pack designs. We provide a variety of PSA-tape options for the e-mobility battery trade, and our portfolio is backed by intensive R&D capabilities.
In regards to the writer
Max VanRaaphorst is market supervisor for Power Storage at Avery Dennison Supplies Group North America. With a decade of technical, gross sales, and advertising expertise within the adhesives and tapes discipline, Max strives to assist OEMs and suppliers deal with design, manufacturing, and efficiency challenges within the fast-evolving vitality storage phase.
