It all starts with the cell
Three successive production steps are required from the first component to the finished high-voltage battery: Only after cell coating, module production and finally assembly is a high-voltage battery ready for use as an electric vehicle’s energy supply. Precision and reliable processes are essential at every step. Leuze supports this with sensor solutions in cell coating and module production. Cell coating is the first step in high-voltage battery production. Each battery module consists of several cells. These are delivered to BMW in large load carriers (LLC). So that the LLCs can be unloaded automatically by robot, a Leuze safety light curtain from the MLC series secures the danger zone to prevent people from entering. Muting ensures that only the LLC can pass through. The robot always unloads 16 cells at the same time and places them on a conveyor belt. Here, horizontally installed switching light curtains from the CSL series detect whether the cells are positioned correctly. “The switching light curtains are very well suited to monitoring large detection fields,” explains Jürgen Schweiß, KAM-Automotive and Safety Application Specialist at Leuze. In addition, thanks to quick parameterization and simple handling, they are usually more cost-efficient than imaging methods.