Battery Web Gauge ES-5

Reduction of the Environmental Impact

By redesigning the measurement frame and sensor, we have significantly reduced power consumption and air consumption. This contributes to reducing CO₂ emissions.
The weight has also been reduced, making maintenance and installation easier.

Enhanced Installation Flexibility

The frame size is also more compact than previous models, allowing customers to make their production lines more compact.
The control box that houses the frame control circuits etc. can be separated from the frame, allowing it to be installed freely.
In addition,  it reduces the hassle of operation and maintenance for customers, by points such as cleanable the sensors from the aisle side.

Accurate Measurement of Both Coated Areas and Edges

By improving the sensor and downsizing the irradiation collimator, it got available to capture the actual shape of the coating edge more accurately. A wider range can be subject to quality control than ever before.
It also has a filtering function that removes noise from the radiation source. This not only allows the actual shape of the coating to be captured more accurately, but also shortens the waiting time until the noise stabilizes, reducing the loss of material and electricity that would  be wasted during the waiting time.Furthermore, by adding an air pressure compensation function in addition to the conventional temperature compensation, stability has been improved at continuous measurements of long time. This contributes to the stable operation of the production line.

Effects of Temperature and Pressure Compensation

Achieves Both High Scan Speed and High Measurement Accuracy

The sensor head has become lighter and the head indication distance has been shortened to reduce vibration during scan. This allows for both high measurement accuracy and high speed measurement of 1500 mm/3 seconds. The large measurement coverage allows for more precise detection of quality defects.

Available to Measure Thick and Heavy Sheets

The measurement range has been expanded to a maximum of 2,000g/m². It is available to measure a wide range of materials and thicknesses, supporting the development and manufacturing of next-generation batteries.

Safety Measures

• Measures against Contamination
  Similar to conventional products, the new product employs a safety design that eliminates the risk of rechargeable battery ignition, such as the fall of copper or other metal powder.

• Enhanced Radiation Countermeasures
  By covering the driving part with a protective cover and by redesigning the structure of the on-board sensor, the risk of contact during operation and maintenance has been reduced, and also the radiation leakage radiation has been reduced, improving the safety.

Challenge to Total Optimization

"Collaborative Information Server (CI Server)" has been adopted as the system platform, to aggregate data from other equipment and systems in the factory and support optimal centralized management of information.

The electrode coating thickness measured by the ES-5 is a crucial quality indicator, influencing battery energy density, but it can fluctuate due to surrounding processes. By integrating with these peripheral processes, the platform enhances production efficiency and shifts from individual optimization of the coating process to overall optimization of the entire production line.

HMI Tailored to Specific Requests

• Profile, Trend, Digital Display
  Optimum approach to the general monitoring, etc.

• 2D Map Display
  Good for capturing trend visually

• 3D Map Display
  Good for past trouble analysis and quality improvement activities

The platform features a highly flexible interface, allowing for a measurement and monitoring environment tailored to customer requirements.
It can display by 2D or 3D, making it easy to visually capture trends of quality changes.
Measurement data is automatically saved in real time. Each profile is saved based on the roll sheet length, enabling quality control according to each product lots.

Automatic Coating Control

It is expected that the automatic coating control software (option) will reduce the operation man-hours, pursue quality improvements as high as the level unachievable manually, and prevent production losses by the processes of both yield improvement and production line setup time reduction.

System Configuration

ES-5 can measure at up to five different positions (#1 to #5). The thickness of the foil before coating, respective coating weights for its front and back sides just after coating (#2 & #4) and after drying (#3 & #5) will be led by calculating difference using the measured values of each frame.
Dryers are generally several dozen meters long, by installing the ES-5, measurements can be made immediately after coating (#2 and #4) without waiting until drying complete, contributing to improved yields.
The frame body is equipped with the dedicated sensor and can measure the thickness by scanning sheets from one end to the other.

Sensor

This is a transmission sensor using Beta-ray or X-ray*.
Both of them are non-contact sensors and continuously measures the object with high accuracy without damaging it.
When the radiation emitted from the radiation source or X-ray tube transmits through the electrode sheets to be measured, the weight (basis weight) per unit area is measured by applying the principle of the attenuation according to the weight of the sheet.
Measuring the basis weight can detect the variations of not only thickness but also density unlike the laser type which measures thickness (um) only.

*X-ray sensor will be released in the future

Measurement Range

Beta-ray sensor (Radiation source: ⁸⁵Kr)

　Measurement range: 0 to 1,200g/m², or 850 to 2,000g/m²