Large-Width Cathode Roller Structure for Uniform Copper Foil Current
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in producing high-strength ultra-thin copper foil is the non-uniform current distribution on large-width cathode rollers, leading to suboptimal copper foil quality and increased production costs.
Innovation Solution
A large-width cathode roller design featuring a titanium cylinder, steel-copper explosive clad cylinders, and electrically conductive support rings connected through copper bars, ensuring uniform current distribution and improved conductivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the width of the cathode roller is increased to improve production capacity, then the productivity increases, but the current distribution uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The cathode roller is segmented into multiple independent conducting structures (first conducting structure and second conducting structure) that can be adjusted independently. Each conducting structure includes conducting plates and conducting bars that divide the current path, allowing separate optimization of current distribution across different width regions while maintaining overall high productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The conducting structures are designed with locally optimized geometry - the conducting plates have specific thickness variations and the conducting bars are positioned at predetermined intervals to create non-uniform current density distribution that compensates for the natural tendency toward edge concentration, achieving uniform overall current distribution across the entire wide surface
2Loss of substance
If the width of the cathode roller is increased to reduce production cost per unit, then the loss of substance decreases, but the manufacturing precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The wide cathode roller surface is divided into multiple conducting zones with independent electrical pathways. This segmentation allows precise control of current density in each zone, ensuring uniform copper deposition across the entire width and producing high-quality foil that meets specifications, thereby reducing rejection rates and raw material waste
Solution Approach 2:
The conducting structures utilize specific material parameters (copper and copper alloys with controlled electrical conductivity and mechanical strength) and geometric parameters (plate thickness, bar spacing, and positioning) to optimize current distribution. These parameter optimizations ensure uniform electrolysis across the wide surface, producing consistent high-quality copper foil that minimizes defects and material loss
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables the production of high-strength ultra-thin copper foil with a thickness of 4.5 μm and a cathode roller width over 2 meters, ensuring consistent quality and reduced production costs.
Implementation Method 1
electrically conductive support rings connected through copper bars, ensuring uniform current distribution and improved conductivity
Implementation Method 2
The electrolytic process is often used for producing copper both in China and in foreign countries
Implementation Method 3
Copper foil, as a cathodic electrolysis material, is a layer of thin and continuous metal foil deposited on the base layer of circuit boards
Data Source
AI summary
A large-width cathode roller for producing high-strength ultra-thin copper foil includes titanium side plates and a titanium cylinder sealed by the titanium side plates, and a cathode roller core penetrated through the titanium side plates. Steel-copper explosive clad cylinders and a steel support plate are disposed in/on the side plate, inner ring surfaces of the side plates and the copper plates are connected to a copper sleeve around the cathode roller core, outer ring surfaces of the copper plates and the steel support plates are connected to a copper cylinder, inner ring surfaces of the steel support plates are connected to the cathode roller core; and multiple electrically conductive support rings on the copper cylinder are connected to the copper plates on two sides through the electrically conductive copper bars to form a conducting loop to improve the distribution uniformity of the current on the surface of the cathode roller.