Rollformed Battery Pack Frame With Stepped Walls and Laser-Welded Joints
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing method for manufacturing battery pack frames involves multiple materials and processes, leading to low production efficiency, high equipment and labor costs, and challenges in quality control due to deformation and low dimensional accuracy.
Innovation Solution
A rollforming method that includes sequential rolling and bending of plate ends to form vertical and horizontal walls, followed by laser welding at specific joints, reducing the number of materials and processes while enhancing dimensional accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional butt-welding and multi-step machining processes are used, then structural strength is achieved, but production efficiency is low and manufacturing cost is high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate machining operations (frame material rolling, welding, frame butt-welding, steel plate and frame butt-welding, laser hole-cutting) into a single integrated rollforming process that produces the complete battery pack frame in one continuous operation, eliminating the need for separate welding and machining steps
Solution Approach 2:
The frame is divided into multiple profile types (first, second, third, fourth profiles) that are each rollformed with specific geometric features and then assembled through connection structures, allowing complex frames to be built from standardized modular components produced by the same integrated machine
2Ease of manufacture
If multiple materials and machining processes are used, then structural requirements are met, but equipment investment and labor costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The rollforming machine is designed to perform multiple functions within a single integrated system: it can rollform different profile types, perform welding operations, create connection structures, and produce various geometric features all in one continuous process, eliminating the need for separate specialized equipment for each operation
Solution Approach 2:
The frame structure combines different profile types with varying geometric characteristics (channel profiles, C-shaped profiles, U-shaped profiles) that are all produced from the same base material through the integrated rollforming process, achieving structural diversity without material complexity
3Manufacturing precision
If welding operations are performed on assembled frames, then structural integrity is achieved, but dimensional accuracy decreases due to deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The connection structures and mounting features are rollformed into the profiles before the profiles are assembled into the final frame structure, ensuring that all dimensional-critical features are established with high precision during the rollforming process before any welding or assembly operations occur
Solution Approach 2:
The welding operations are integrated into the rollforming process itself, allowing profiles to be welded to each other during the continuous rollforming operation rather than after assembly, which prevents welding-induced deformation from affecting the dimensional accuracy of mounting features
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
Improves production efficiency, reduces material and equipment costs, and enhances quality control by minimizing deformation and ensuring precise assembly.
Implementation Method 1
performing laser welding on a joint of the fourth vertical wall and the first vertical wall
Implementation Method 2
performing laser welding on a joint of the connecting edge and the second vertical wall
Data Source
AI summary
A method for manufacturing a rollforming frame includes: forming a first vertical wall and a first horizontal wall connected to each other at two opposite ends of a to-be-machined plate; rolling and bending the first horizontal wall to form a stepped bent structure; rolling and bending the first horizontal wall to form a second vertical wall, a second horizontal wall, and a third horizontal wall; rolling and bending the second horizontal wall to form a third vertical wall and a fourth horizontal wall; rolling and bending the third horizontal wall to form a fourth vertical wall and a fifth horizontal wall; rolling and bending one end of the fifth horizontal wall away from the fourth vertical wall to form a connecting edge and a sixth horizontal wall; rolling and bending the sixth horizontal wall to form a fifth vertical wall and a seventh horizontal wall.