1. The Smart Battery Assembly Process
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2. The Smart Battery Assembly Process
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The Smart Battery Assembly Process
Passive
component
sub-assembly
Cell
Corepack
Welding
Circuit Board
Functional
Testing
Circuit Board
Population +
Cleaning
Cell
Corepack
Gluing
Circuit
Board
Attach
Pre Cal
Test
Calibration
Test Data
Central
Storage
Post Cal
Test
Case Gluing
Ultrasonic
Welding
Packing
&
Shipping
End of line test
Load Test
Date Coding
Labeling

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Corepack Welding
The inter-cell links are individually resistance welded to the positive & negative terminals on each cell.

4. Corepack Gluing Each cell is glued to the adjacent cell.
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Corepack Gluing
Each cell is glued to the adjacent cell.
Where adjacent cells have differing voltage, an insulating spacer is used.

5. Passive component sub-assembly
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Passive component sub-assembly
Sub assemblies of wires, fuses, thermal safety devices heat shrink tubing and nickel straps etc are assembled prior to building the cell corepacks.

6. Circuit Board Population & Cleaning
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Circuit Board Population & Cleaning
Each raw board has the solder paste applied by the paste stencil.
After a visual inspection, the board passes through the pick & place robot where each component is placed on the board.
The populated board is inspected & then passes through the oven to reflow the solder paste.
After a visual inspection, the board is placed into the washer to clean any flux or residue from the reflow process

7. Circuit Board Functional Testing
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Circuit Board Functional Testing
Every board on every panel is fully tested using a computerized system which models the operation of the board and tests the components for performance.
The panel is placed on a bed-of-nails fixture & each test point is wired-up to the test rack.
The circuit board data is stored in a central database & can be compared to data from battery packs through the work-in-process to the end of line test, to provide full traceability of the test results throughout the process.

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Circuit Board Attach
The circuit board is soldered to the cell corepack.
As the cells are live, this is a skilled operation.
The newly-attached board is now a fully functional smart battery.
Prior to calibration it is tested for SMBus communications & basic operation.

9. Calibration Every battery pack is fully charged & fully discharged.
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Calibration
Every battery pack is fully charged & fully discharged.
During the discharge the internal fuel gauge measures the amount of charge present, & this gives the battery its first full calibration.
The battery is then given a shipping charge between 30-50% capacity.
We do not electronically “write” a calibration to the battery. Every battery must calibrate itself to pass this stage.
After calibration the battery data is read and stored.

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Case Gluing
Electronics grade RTV is applied to the corepack assembly to unitize it within the case.
Adhesive is applied around the perimeter of the case & the case top & bottom are clamped together

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Ultrasonic Welding
Electronics grade RTV is applied to the corepack assembly to unitize it within the case.
The case top & bottom are placed into the ultrasonic weld fixture & welded together

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Labeling
Labels are applied to each battery pack and a visual inspection is carried out.

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End-of-Line Testing
Prior to packing & shipping, every battery has its SMBus data read by the end of line tester.
A load test is also performed to verify the capability of the battery to perform to its discharge specification.
As with all other test data, this is stored centrally and can be used to verify the outgoing performance of each individual battery pack.
Only if the battery pack passes this test will it receive the date code and serial number embossed into the plastic case adjacent to the connector.
Upon completion of a successful test the battery is date coded, packaged & immediately shipped to the customer.

14. Std. Battery Inline Quality Checks
Circuit Board
Test
Visual Inspection
Circuit Board
Assembly
Core Pack
Assembly
Pass
Inspect/
Repair
Inspect/
Repair
Fail
Fail
SMBus
Comms
test
Test Data
Storage
Battery Pack
Assembly
MACCOR
Pack
Calibration
Fail
Inspect & Repair /Replace board
Fail
SMBus
Comms
test
Label
&
Date
Code
SMBus
Comms
test
Visual
Insp.
Glue
Case
Pack
&
Ship
Fail