The final stage of battery assembly involves the mounting of the cover onto the battery housing.
At this point of the EV battery assembly process, the housing is only accessible from the outside and this needs to be considered when selecting an appropriate joining technology. In addition, the bond created should also be detachable, to facilitate future maintenance and final dismantling, when it comes to end of life recycling.
March 21, 2024
Atlas Copco’s K-Flow drill fastening technology meets these requirements perfectly. A specially designed fastening element is rotated at high speed, utilising pressure to warm up the material. This allows the fastener to push through the material stack, cutting the thread in a ‘one shot’ process, thereby delivering an efficient and flexible hybrid joining technology for multi-material stacks. Requiring only one-sided access, the K-Flow process provides reliable, high quality re-usable joints to increase serviceability. Operator safety is also increased, as K-Flow fastening does not involve welding which can result in ‘splatter’ and fumes. Efficiency is also improved through a reduction in process steps, as preparation or post-processing of the joint is not required.
With up to 100 connections required in battery cover to tray assembly, fast, uninterrupted and precise joining is necessary, as the joining points are very close together. To meet this challenge, Atlas Copco has developed a new feeding technology for its K-Flow solution, which enables significantly higher productivity and shorter cycle times in the cover joining process.
Featuring an innovative helix design, the new K-Flow HLX 70 magazine, which is mounted on the K-Flow joining system, is filled by a fastener feed unit in a loading cycle, while the loading rail of the feed unit is filled up during the joining process, enabling cycle time to be reduced by a third. In addition, the HLX 70 eliminates the feed blow air required for each feed process, reducing compressed air consumption by up to 66%. A further advantage of the HLX 70 is a significant reduction in contamination at the joint, which is particularly important in the sensitive battery joining process.
With innovative joining technologies and a wealth of expertise in EV battery assembly, Atlas Copco is your strategic partner for electromobility. Take a look at our video to see how we can help with your electromobility needs.