The Application

The manufacture and assembly of electric car batteries provides a number of different assembly challenges not all of them automated.

A typical battery can have 48 lithium-ion cell modules that have to be located into a single battery pack and then wired together along with a host of sensing devices.

Production lines will have multi assembly operations being carried out at various positions along the line. In this application the system length was 29 metres with 50 different assembly stations.

Product Solution

To achieve a high level of rigidity for the assembly process two HDRT systems in parallel are located on a rigid steel structure. The carriage that houses the battery pack is constructed as a welded frame located onto both track systems. Each carriage uses a novel bogie arrangement for the V bearings.

This design allows operators to work on specific stations, indexing a station forward to the next position when required, providing a highly flexible solution.

HDRT systems have many uses in the automotive industry where assembly operations are required. Their use simplifies the whole assembly process by providing space internally for pick and place units or robots and the ability for operations to be performed both sides of the track.