Integrated cut and place module for high productive manufacturing of lithium-ion cells

A main reason for the high costs of lithium-ion cells is the complexity of the assembly process. Especially, creating the cell stack is an inefficient process due to an immature handling and aligning of the limp electrodes and separators. This paper focuses therefore on the methodical development of a functionally integrated assembly module that combines cutting and handling of electrode sheets to increase stacking accuracy, process reliability and productivity. Based on an analysis of requirements and functions, a technical solution has been identified and will be illustrated. At the end, the realized module is described and its performance is proven by experimental validation. (C) 2014 CIRP.