A Better Battery – Weighing technology as quality control in battery production

The advances in e-mobility are ground-breaking. Although recent developments generally affect all subsections of production, the efforts of many engineers are currently focused on the battery cells essential for drive systems. Sheer expediency has given rise to a pioneering competition that has longevity and environmental protection as its objectives.

Experience shows that modern lithium-ion batteries not only support such ambitions in the best way possible but at the same time are becoming more and more profitable to produce. Consumers will be particularly pleased if that means a drop in price. Even a brief examination of the German market is enough to reveal a clear upward trend in the total number of cars with an electric power source registered in this country.

Meanwhile, people's awareness has also changed. Now, both the public and the trade press have become far more critical of technical performance figures than was the case only a few years ago. For example, the power consumption and range of an e-car frequently proves to be absolutely crucial in the final decision to buy. Consequently, the battery's cells in particular must meet a certain standard.

Quality assurance has always been one of Wipotec's core competencies. We rely on a holistic process that uses special systems tailored to the individual production steps. The Weigh Cells optimised for battery checking weigh accurately to within 0.1 milligrams with peak values of 1,000 measurements per second. Thanks to AVC technology, these results also remain free from external influences.

Unlike the combustion engine's dependence on finite petrol, an electric drive runs without a constant supply of fuel. A connection to the power grid is all that's needed to prepare the specially designed battery for its next journey. In this context, it is also referred to colloquially as a rechargeable battery because the lithium-ion batteries used are rechargeable energy storage devices whose potential uses are not limited to the area of e-mobility. Even simple household appliances work on this principle.

Accordingly, the global demand for lithium-ion batteries is clearly continuing to rise. Up-to-date forecasts predict that demand will double and triple in the coming years. As a result, all progressive car manufacturers would like to position themselves in the market in good time and benefit from the advantages of coordinated production. The requirement for this project's success is efficient and reliable quality control of internal processes.