Battery Power - Spring 2016 - (Page 24)
Feature
Designing and Managing Custom Battery Pack Plastic Enclosures
Anton Beck, Battery Product Manager * Epec Engineered Technologies
Customers are often unfamiliar with battery regulatory requirements, which can lead to complications
during the design of plastic enclosures. Understanding some of the design and management elements
will help avoid production process complications. With any enclosure, the most important aspect is that
the enclosure must be able to support the battery itself. It must also pass rigorous tests, especially when
associated with transportation safety certifications.
One of the first steps once a customer has approached a manufacturer is to determine the level of
design the customer intends and if it is a full design or partial. A full design would allow the manufacturer to be in full working knowledge of the project from the start. The creation of CAD files, progressive
meeting schedules, approval stages and the production volume will be established based on the need
and depth of a full or partial design. The production volume will determine the level of tooling required.
Tooling can raise costs and/or extend the time of a project's completion. The intention is to always get
the design completed first time through because of time involved, cost and tooling. Most importantly is
meeting the transportation certification requirements
and the customer's look and feel of the design.
Complete Battery Pack Enclosure Customization
The complete customization of a battery pack plastic enclosures is available right down to the plastic
grade itself. It is important to understand what type
of environment the application will be primarily used
in and whether it will be used in extreme or mild
conditions. The plastic grade will have to be selected
to accommodate the appropriate environment. ABS
plastic, for an example, is less expensive however
it becomes very brittle when exposed to certain
cold temperatures. There are a lot of plastic grades
available and in some cases it is possible to create a
hybrid grade.
Figure 1. Custom battery pack enclosure with custom plastic
connector components.
The focus on determining the best plastic grade for
any given application starts with the environmental
conditions but drop tests and of course transportation certification requirements should be kept in
consideration.
Branding Your Enclosure
Not as complex, but just as important, is branding.
Any customer looking to add their company's branding to the application can do so. Product branding is
available by means of labels, digital printing or etching specific to the application requirements.
Sealing the Plastic Enclosure
After the internal components have been secured,
the enclosure has to be sealed. Take note that sealing the enclosure is part of the final assembly. Ultrasonic wielding is a method that uses high-frequency
acoustic vibrations to generate heat. The heat melts
the material voiding any need for screws or bolts.
24
Battery Power * Spring 2016
Figure 2. Custom branded enclosure with company logo.
www.BatteryPowerOnline.com
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Battery Power - Spring 2016
Editor's Choice
Reducing TCO with the Right UPS Architecture and Operating Mode
Decades of Data: Using Analytics to Predict the Future
Top Four Considerations for Battery Management in a Connected World
Conference Preview
Designing and Managing Custom Battery Pack Plastic Enclosures
Assessment of Performance and Safety on Lithium Ion Pouch Battery Under Various Test Conditions
Batteries
ICs & Semiconductors
Charging & Testing
Industry News
Calendar of Events
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