Lithium-ion battery manufacturing process:
Lithium-ion battery manufacturing process consists of three stages: front-end, mid-end, and back-end, accounting for approximately 35%/30%/35% respectively. Key production processes include the electrode fabrication stirring and coating stage (front-end), the cell assembly winding and liquid injection stage (mid-end), and the formation, packaging, and testing stage (back-end). The value (purchase amount) breakdown is approximately (35~40%):(30~35)%:(30~35)%. Differences mainly arise from different equipment suppliers and varying import/domestic ratios. While the overall process flow is consistent, the value breakdown may vary but generally conforms to this ratio.
Lithium-ion battery front-end manufacturing process: Electrode manufacturing is crucial to core battery performance
The result of the front-end process of lithium-ion batteries is the preparation of the positive and negative electrode sheets. The first step is stirring, which involves mixing the solid battery materials of the positive and negative electrodes evenly, adding a solvent, and stirring them into a slurry using a vacuum mixer. The stirring of the materials is the foundation of subsequent lithium battery processes, and high-quality stirring is the basis for the high-quality completion of subsequent coating and rolling processes.
Mid-stage process flow for lithium-ion batteries: Efficiency first, winding precedes stacking.
In the manufacturing process of lithium-ion batteries, the mid-stage process is crucial for completing the battery formation. Key processes include sheet making, electrode winding, die cutting, cell winding and forming, and stacking. This is currently a highly competitive area among domestic equipment manufacturers, accounting for approximately 30% of the value of a lithium-ion battery production line.
The core process of lithium-ion battery back-end manufacturing is capacity assessment and formation.
The downstream production process of lithium-ion batteries mainly consists of four steps: capacity grading, formation, testing, and packaging/warehousing, accounting for approximately 35% of the production line's value. Formation and capacity grading are the most crucial downstream processes, activating and testing the formed batteries. Due to the long charge-discharge testing cycle, the equipment used in these processes has the highest value. The formation process is primarily used to activate the electrolyte-filled cells through charging, while the capacity grading process tests the battery's capacity and other electrical performance parameters after activation and performs grading. Formation and capacity grading are typically completed by automated capacity grading and formation systems, with formation machines and capacity grading machines respectively.
