The innovative X-ray systems provider facilitates real-time inline cell testing, tailored to the unique needs of battery manufacturers.
“Our focus goes beyond cell testing and providing comprehensive support to our customers by not just differentiating between good and bad cells. This reduces production waste, ensures heightened safety, and optimizes cell performance,” says Hagen Berger, CEO of Exacom.
He perceives cell testing as a path to delve deeper into process failures, refining overall manufacturing quality, enhancing process insights, and reducing waste.
What sets Exacom apart is its comprehensive approach to addressing all aspects of cell assembly processes within the battery industry.
Inline Excellence and AI-Driven Software
Exacom guides manufacturers through every stage of the cell design process, from initial conception and evaluation phases to mass production. However, its strength lies in ‘manufacturing lab’ solutions, focusing more on the testing approach than just high-definition research endeavors. The company’s 'lab to line' philosophy extends across the entire spectrum, facilitating a seamless transition from development to production.
“We guarantee complete transparency of cell quality at all times, allowing cost reduction, accelerated development, and market readiness,” says Berger.
Exacom establishes a steady and dependable functionality within the production process, creating real-time inline testing systems. Its systems diverge from conventional sampling approaches, examining each cell throughout production. This commitment drives the company's goal to design systems that consistently retain its distinguished standards.
The firm makes a significant contribution to battery manufacturing. Exacom achieves an impressive inspection rate of 175 parts per minute (ppm) for cylindrical cells, which is equivalent to assessing approximately three cells per second. This in-depth analysis minimizes the chances of defective cells reaching the market, ensuring top-notch safety, performance, and high quality.
When stacked cells are manufactured at a slightly slower pace, Exacom conducts comprehensive testing on a single cell corner in less than four seconds. Exacom employs a 3D approach, reconstructing the volume of the corner and assessing it through two slices—on the x and the y axis. This enables an accurate evaluation of specific features, such as the anode overhang.
Furthermore, Exacom’s commitment to 3D and computed tomography (CT) imaging is especially noteworthy. The company’s philosophy encapsulates a seamless journey from laboratory design to full-scale production. It also prioritizes safety compliance by ensuring its X-ray technology adheres to relevant government regulations regarding radiation leakage and guaranteeing high operator protection.
Our focus goes beyond cell testing, not only differentiating between good and bad cells. This reduces production waste, ensures heightened safety and optimizes cell performance
In rare cases of misidentification, Exacom collaborates with clients to retest cells using its offline AI system. The prompt response enables experiments with various parameters to find the best balance between minimizing defects and achieving a high yield. This expertise in capturing images and applying AI algorithms allows it to identify failure modes, trace their origins, and monitor production process performance. This has led to remarkable seven scrap rates, leading to outstanding cell performance for customers.
This comprehensive partnership allows the company to offer solutions that align with each customer's requirements, streamlining their processes and enhancing production efficiency.
Precision Assurance: Metrology and Integration Capabilities
In the European and North American markets, no other X-ray company has attained such deep integration into production lines. While some competitors offer solutions resembling inline capabilities, these are equivalent to bypass or at-line sampling rate inspections. Exacom stands out due to its seamless communication alignment across the entire production line.
Many competitors in the Asian market now offer X-ray solutions with inline capabilities. However, their approaches differ as they mainly rely on 2D X-ray imagery—effective for single cylindrical coin cells like the 4680 or 21 700. This falls short due to the parallax effect of X-ray for stack cells (like prismatic cells used in cars) and pouch cells (found in mobile phones). The effect is inherent to X-ray technology, leading to image distortion as one moves away from the central beam. In contrast, Exacom adopts a 3D approach to ensure impeccable visualization of all electrodes, even those positioned at the periphery of the X-ray image.
A significant advantage of Exacom’s system stems from its extensive metrology experience, which leads to exceptionally reliable X-ray metrology tools. These instruments help manufacturers in regulating their processes, recognizing cell failures, and minimizing their waste percentages. The goal is clear—to reduce scrap levels to an impressive seven to eight percent, a drastic improvement compared to the 15 to 30 percent observed in Asian counterparts.
Emphasizing repeatability, which includes gauge repeatability and reproducibility, adds an extra layer of assurance. Exacom adheres to the automotive industry’s guidelines, such as the VDA5 standard, which is a benchmark for metrology systems. This adherence is seamlessly integrated into Exacom’s measurement and inspection processes, aligning with quality management practices in the automotive industry. This approach instils trust in its systems and the values it delivers, making the company a reliable choice.
Building Trust through Collaborative Solutions
Positive word-of-mouth recommendations resulting from collaborations serve as a testament to Exacom's success. Its reputation gains natural momentum as the team collaborates with a variety of cell manufacturers. Clients seek out Exacom due to its established track record history and positive customer feedback.
Upon detecting an increase in faulty cells, Exacom collaborated with the customer to identify the underlying causes. It delved into a reservoir of production data and traced these failures back to specific winders that had undergone insufficient maintenance. This discovery resulted in the remedial action taken by the new maintenance team, resolving the problem, and enhancing production efficiency. This case is a tangible example of the positive impact the company has achieved in collaboration with its customers.
Parametric optimization forms a core aspect of Exacom’s customer collaboration. It involves meticulous adjustments in AC overhang measurements, which are crucial for anode size discrepancies and sheet alignment. These fine-tuned parameters lead to a balance between high performance, safety, and minimal scrap rates. Collectively identifying design changes, adjusting parameters, and fostering an environment of open communication, contributing to Exacom’s continuous success and innovation.
Advancing the Battery Industry with Particle Detection
A complex endeavor in the battery industry is implementing particle detection via X-ray. Frequent discussions revolve around the incorporation of particle detection into production. Leveraging its prior success, Exacom has developed a market solution, identifying particles based on specific material and size criteria. The company is currently in the process of introducing this solution to the market, intending to refine and enhance its capabilities in collaboration with its customers. This strategic move aims to expand the scope of its X-ray inspection and metrology services within battery inspection. This commitment to provide comprehensive solutions and foster innovations in battery production, while the industry constantly evolves, leads to Exacom staying at the forefront.
In a battery industry crowded with competitors, Exacom’s unwavering commitment, unmatched expertise, and a track record of success stories undoubtedly position it in a league of its own. Despite the rapid battery market’s growth, Exacom’s pioneering solutions promise a brighter and more efficient future.
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