Nowadays, new energy vehicle is not a concept but has become reality. It is one of the key way to protect the environment and its great potential is yet to be discovered. New energy vehicles generally include HEV and FCEV. But for the time being, when it comes to new energy vehicle, we refer to battery electric vehicle (BEV). And the core component of BEV is lithium battery.
As a new clean energy, lithium battery can provide power for not only battery electric vehicle but also electric train, electric bike, golf cart and so on. The production of lithium battery is a process in which each procedure is closely related to each other. The production mainly include electrode manufacturing, cell manufacturing and battery assembling. Therefore, the quality of lithium battery directly decides the performance of the new energy vehicle, so its processing technique is quite demanding. And the advanced laser technique happens to meet the demand with high efficiency, high precision, high flexibility, reliability, safety, so it is widely used in the production of lithium battery.
The laser application in lithium battery of new energy vehicle01 Laser cutting
Lithium battery processing is quite demanding on precision and controllability of the machine. Before laser cutting machine was invented, lithium battery used to be processed by traditional machinery which can inevitably lead to wear, burr, overheating/short-circuit/explosion of the battery. To avoid these kinds of danger, it is more ideal to use laser cutting machine. Comparing with traditional machinery, laser cutting machine doesn’t have wearing down of the tool and can cut various shapes with high quality cutting edge with low maintenance cost. It can perfectly reduce the production cost, improve production efficiency and shorten the production lead time. As the market of new energy vehicle market expands, the laser cutting machine will have greater and greater potential.
02 Laser welding
To produce a lithium battery, it requires a dozen of detailed procedures. And the laser welding machine serves to provide the complete lithium battery manufacturing equipment to ensure the durability and safety of the battery during operation. Comparing with traditional TIG welding, and electric resistance welding, laser welding machine has significant advantages: 1. small heat affecting zone ; 2. Non-contact processing; 3. High efficiency. The major lithium battery material that is welded by laser welding machine includes aluminum alloy and copper alloy. As we all know, the cell of the lithium battery is supposed to be light and easy to carry. Therefore, its material is often aluminum alloy which is supposed to be very thin. And welding these thin metal materials with laser welding machine is quite necessary.
03 Laser marking
Laser marking machine which features high marking speed, high production efficiency and long lasting quality is also gradually introduced in the production of lithium battery. Besides, since laser marking machine has long lifespan and doesn’t require consumables, it can greatly save running cost and labor cost. During the production of lithium battery, laser marking machine can mark the character, serial number, production date, anti-counterfeiting code and so on. It won’t damage the lithium battery and can improve the overall delicacy for the battery, since it is non-contact.
Therefore, we can see that laser technique has multiple applications in the production of lithium battery. But no matter what kind of laser technique is used in the lithium battery production, there is one thing for sure. They all need proper cooling. S&A Teyu CWFL-1000 laser industrial cooling system is widely used for laser welding machine and laser cutting machine in the lithium battery production. Its innovative dual refrigeration circuit design allows for simultaneous cooling for the fiber laser and the laser source at the same time, saving time and space. This CWFL-1000 fiber laser chiller also comes with two intelligent temperature controllers which can tell the real-time water temperature or alarms if happen. For more information about this chiller, click https://www.teyuchiller.com/dual-circuit-process-water-chiller-cwfl-1000-for-fiber-laser_fl4