Rotating Magazine Stacking System for Battery Foil Blanks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing battery cells and fuel cells, such as pick-and-place and prismatic winding, face limitations in manufacturing rate and risk of damage to sensitive foils, while continuous stacking methods are hindered by mass inertia and energy density constraints.
Innovation Solution
A method for continuously stacking foil- or membrane-like material webs using a rotating transfer apparatus with multiple magazines, where the material web is cut to size and fed continuously, allowing for high-speed, damage-free stacking of battery and fuel cell components without the need for gripping processes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If pick-and-place methods are used for stacking, then manufacturing precision is maintained, but productivity is limited due to sequential operations and actuator mass inertia
Solution Approach 1:
The stacking system is segmented into multiple independent stacking positions arranged along the conveyor path, allowing parallel stacking operations at different positions while materials are continuously fed through the system. This enables multiple stacks to be formed simultaneously without requiring sequential pick-and-place operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Materials are pre-cut to the required blank sizes before entering the stacking system, and the conveyor is pre-configured with multiple stacking positions. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for real-time cutting and positioning operations during the stacking process, thereby increasing manufacturing rate while maintaining precision.
2Productivity
If prismatic winding is used, then productivity is increased, but reliability deteriorates due to damage risk to sensitive foils from narrow radii
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous material web is segmented into discrete blanks through pre-cutting before stacking. This segmentation allows each blank to be handled individually without subjecting the entire continuous web to the damaging narrow radii of winding operations, thereby preserving foil integrity while maintaining high production rates through continuous feeding.
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanical winding process with its inherent narrow radii is replaced by a cutting and stacking system. Instead of forcing materials through tight winding curves, the system cuts blanks to size and stacks them directly, eliminating the mechanical constraint that causes foil damage while maintaining productivity.
3Productivity
If Z-folding methods are used, then productivity is improved compared to sequential stacking, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to gripping processes and potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
Materials are pre-cut to exact blank dimensions before entering the stacking system, eliminating the need for gripping and folding operations during stacking. This preliminary cutting action ensures precise dimensions are achieved before stacking, maintaining manufacturing precision while allowing continuous high-speed stacking operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The gripping and folding mechanical system is replaced by a cutting and direct stacking system. By substituting the Z-folding mechanism with pre-cut blank stacking, the system eliminates gripping-related damage and positioning errors, thereby maintaining high stacking speed while improving stacking quality.
Data Source
AI summary
Stacking system and method for continuously piling cutouts from at least one foil- or membrane-like material web onto a stack, wherein the at least one foil- or membrane-like material web is continuously fed, the at least one foil- or membrane-like material web is cut to a size dependent on the dimensions of the stack to form a blank, the blank is received by a magazine of a continuously moving, in particular rotating, transfer apparatus having a plurality of magazines, and where the received blank is transferred from the magazine onto the stack, before the magazine receives a subsequent blank.