Empowering Lithium Battery Industry Growth with ODOT I/O System
Against the backdrop of global carbon neutrality trends and the rapid growth of new energy vehicle penetration rates, the global lithium battery industry continues to develop rapidly, with traction batteries being the main driving factor. As the industry matures, technological innovation in traction lithium batteries has transitioned from policy-driven to market-driven. Supply-side enterprises are actively deploying various technologies to drive the medium to long-term development of lithium batteries. 1. Process introduction
The craft of the lithium-ion battery cell production consists of 3 main process steps: electrode manufacturing, cell assembly and cell finishing. During the process, ODOT provides I/O system for system controls involved more than 10 kinds of automatic equipment, such as coater, roller press, slitting machine, die-cutting machine, winding machine, stacking machine, laser processing and etc. Calendering of electrodes is an important process in the production of lithium-ion batteries, aimed at obtaining electrodes that meet design requirements. Calendering is a necessary step because after coating and drying, the adhesion strength between the active material and the current collector foil is typically low. Therefore, calendering is performed to enhance the bonding strength between the active material and the foil, preventing delamination during electrolyte immersion and battery usage. 2. Customer Requirements
The purpose of calendering is to further compact the porous electrode, reducing the contact resistance between materials, increasing the battery capacity within a certain volume, while avoiding excessive pressure to ensure proper electrolyte infiltration into the electrode. The key to the calendering process lies in thickness control. Excessive thickness or uneven thickness can adversely affect the final battery performance. Therefore, there is a higher demand for precision and accuracy in controlling the equipment on-site. 3. ODOT Solution
A China manufacturer's calendering machine uses Siemens 1214 PLC in conjunction with ODOT Automation C-series remote IO to achieve electrical control of the calendering machine. ODOT C-series CN-8032 were used as the network adapter, and C-series CT-3168 module is used to collect tension data of the rollers. With 16-bit precision, the CT-3168 module allows for more precise monitoring of roller tension, reducing the occurrence of electrode wrinkling. The CT-3734 module is used to collect and monitor the rolling temperature during the rolling process and accurately adjust the temperature. At a suitable temperature, the deformation resistance of the pole piece coating is reduced and the plasticity becomes better, making the surface thickness of the pole piece more uniform. The CT-4234 module is employed to adjust the speed of the main motor by controlling the frequency converter, thereby adjusting the calendering speed. Simultaneously, it controls the proportional valves of the air and oil, achieving pressure control of the rollers. So that's all about the specific application of ODOT Automation remote IO in the lithium battery calendering process. In the future, we will also bring more industrial control knowledge, so please stay tuned.