COMPETENCE, EXPERIENCE, GLOBAL NETWORK - WE CAN BATTERY
We provide special solutions for special requirements
The production of batteries requires particularly high accuracy and precision while guiding material webs through the production process. We have developed specific battery-related technologies and battery-conform systems in terms of used materials to meet the special requirements and support our customers during all key production steps in the battery industry. Moreover, due to our worldwide sales and service network and our experienced battery experts, we are right there, whenever and wherever you need us.
Thomas Grimm Sales Division Manager Energy / Electronics / ...
Special solutions for the battery and electronics industries
ERHARDT+LEIMER REINFORCES ITS COMMITMENT IN THE AREAS OF ENERGY AND ELECTRONICS AND PRESENTS A NEW SALES MANAGER
For decades the Erhardt+Leimer group based in Stadtbergen near Augsburg has been world leading in the area of automation and inspection technology for production on moving webs. The sectors supplied have, for some time, also included the battery industry as well as the manufacturers of printed electronics. Here very special requirements often need to be met, for example a particularly high accuracy while guiding film/foil webs through the process. Or it is necessary to avoid any material abrasion by means of the usage of materials specially matched to the process to prevent even minimal contamination of the material produced. For this purpose E+L offers customized solutions; it is now also significantly strengthening its human resources in the sales area covering energy and electronics. On August 1 there has been a change at the top in this sales area. It is now managed by Thomas Grimm who has many years of experience in the related sectors and markets. "With immediate effect E+L is placing greater focus on battery manufacture and will further expand its activities in this promising area", says Grimm.
For the production and further processing or coating of anode and cathode materials as well as separator films for lithium-ion batteries and other storage elements such as fuel cells, E+L offers complete system solutions tailored to the industry. These solutions include web guiding and web tension control, inspection systems for checking coatings as well as measuring systems for the measurement of distance, width and grammage. The operators of battery plants and their suppliers, who are primarily based in Asia, and for some time also increasingly in Europe and the USA, profit not only from the many years of experience of the German Erhardt+Leimer headquarters, but also from the E+L sites in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand that ensure the quick availability of material and skilled local service.
Erhardt+Leimer at the China International Battery Fair
After a pandemic-related postponement, the 14th China International Battery Fair (CIBF), the world's largest trade fair for the battery industry, will take place in Shenzhen from March 19 to 21. Originally, the fair should have taken place in May 2020. The Erhardt+Leimer Group will exhibit its latest products for web guiding, web tension control, layer thickness and basis weight measurement and winding station control at its stand GT002 in hall 1.
Web guiders and web tension measurement from Erhardt+Leimer are used worldwide in all roll-to-roll processes in the production of Li-ion batteries and have been specially developed to meet the requirements of this industry. Simple commissioning, service and analysis options already available today, based on Web-Based Management, will be supported in the future by the new EL.NET technology – whether with web guiders of the ELGUIDER DRB14/23/25 series, as used in the areas of notching and lamination, or with pivoting frame systems for winding control or upstream of coating units and downstream of dryers, as used on coating lines or presses.
Depending on the application, these web guiders can be combined with infrared, ultrasonic or color line sensors. They can also be networked via Ethernet and already offer simple service and diagnostic options as well as further data exchange options by means of web-based management based on a standard web browser.
In addition to the web guiders, E+L will present ELTIM, an ultrasound-based system for contactless basis weight measurement, and the ELTENS web tension measurement and control system with various load cells.
According to E+L sales division manager Thomas Grimm, his company is currently recording sales growth in the battery industry in the high double-digit percentage range. "Due to the global orientation of the Erhardt+Leimer Group, we are more attuned to the requirements of this industry than anyone else and come into play as the leading supplier in all current projects."
Coating System – Constant coating thickness for top quality
The coating of the copper or aluminum web is a core process in battery production. The carrier film must always be run in the center of the coating unit and through the machine. Only this guarantees that the top and bottom coating are exactly opposite each other. Just as important for continuous quality is the constant web tension in all the process steps. The ELTIM surface weight measurement before and after the coating head ensures a constant application of the coating.
Press/Calender - Using the optimum force to get the correct thickness
During calendering, the coating of a copper or aluminum foil is compacted between rotating pairs of rollers. A defined line pressure is of decisive importance for a constant thickness of the overall material and a homogenous coating. E+L web guiding systems ensure a precise position while the web is fed through the calender gap, and the web tension control ensures the correct web tension.
Slitter/Rewinder – Precise cutting of multiple panels
Cutting is a separation operation in which a wide electrode strip (mother coil) is divided up into multiple panels. The cutting operation can be performed thermally with a laser cut or mechanically with rotating blades. For both cutting technologies, it is important that the web edge is fed precisely in the cutting station. Besides the web position, constant web tension is crucial for consistent quality.
Notching Machine - Using the right tools to get the desired shape
During notching, the contact connections of the coated aluminum or copper strips are punched out. This can be done mechanically or using lasers. During this process it is important that the panel is fed to the punching tool according to the guiding criterion.
Assembling/Lamination System – Perfect stacking of all webs
Assembling and laminating systems combine copper and aluminum foils and separator films. Here, E+L web guiding and web tension control systems can provide support with the highest level of accuracy and guarantee consistent high quality when the cell is put together.
