Contents
Preventing Moisture Ingress
Excessive moisture during battery production can cause corrosion and reduce performance. It can also accelerate material degradation and shorten the lifespan of the final product. To maintain the integrity of battery powders, gas inerting techniques are used to replace ambient air with gases such as Nitrogen or Argon during the IBC filling stage.
Handle Hot Powders
We have developed an IBC and discharge system that safely and effectively discharges handles powders at temperatures up to 200 °C (392 °F).
This ability can significantly reduce the size of cooling equipment and can lead to substantial CAPEX and OPEX savings.
Powder Fibrillization
By streamlining the traditional "powder–slurry–film" process into a more efficient "powder–film", this method eliminates the need for energy-intensive drying techniques. Our IBC tumble blender with Intensifier applies high-shear forces to encourage fibril formation, enabling the powdered material to develop into a cohesive structure.
Empowering Manufacturing
Flexible Solutions in Battery Powder Formulations
When standard solutions fall short, our advanced engineering expertise is crucial for achieving manufacturing objectives.
Here are a few examples of our innovative problem-solving in action.
Our equipment is impressive on its own, but when combined, it creates powerful systems that provide manufacturers with the flexibility and automation needed to scale and stay competitive.
Each Matcon system is custom-tailored to fit specific manufacturing needs and plant layouts, offering clients a perfect blend of bespoke solutions with off-the-shelf modular components. This approach ensures ease of maintenance and adaptability to future manufacturing demands without becoming a long-term maintenance burden.
In this process flow the system efficiently manages powders from sources like mixers and sack tipping, transferring them to the furnaces positioned under discharge stations. This automation allows operators to fill IBCs as necessary, while the system autonomously handles container movement and processing. This capability ensures a continuous feed to the furnace, whether using a single ingredient or a powder blend, with minimal need for manual intervention.
For this R&D facility, there were significant space constraints. It was not possible to give access to forklifts, thereby necessitating manual handling of the IBCs for the formulation, blending and discharge processes.
We developed a system that allows operators to efficiently move containers using rolling castors. Actuators lift the discharge stations to connect with the IBCs. After discharge, the IBCs are easily rolled into & out of each manufacturing process step, ensuring manual handling is safe and efficient.
In this project, we collaborated closely with the architect to maximise floor space efficiency.
The building was divided into two key areas: one dedicated to raw ingredient storage and dosing, where big bags feed IBCs, and the other designed for formulation, blending, and packing.
The client opted for a glass wall between the areas to enhance visibility and use it as a site reference. Thanks to the dust-free Matcon system, the glass wall requires minimal cleaning.
In this instance, our primary goal was maximising throughput while minimising operator handling. We implemented an RFID system to enhance operational efficiency. This setup utilises a series of conveyors to manage IBCs. As one IBC on the discharge station is depleted, it is automatically removed, and the next full IBC is transitioned into place.
The process operates within a multi-floor structure. IBCs are loaded onto a goods elevator from the ground floor and gradually transported to the top floor through the process. Once there, the containers enter the automated conveyor system, eliminating the need for manual intervention.
For this application, the client needed a powder grading system to maximise yield and ensure efficient material utilisation.
We implemented a recirculating approach for grading. This method stacks the equipment into a vertical line.
Powders are processed through a Roller Compactor and mill which precisely resizes the powder particles, significantly reducing powder waste that would otherwise be discarded due to out-of-spec particle size distribution.
The Matcon advanced powder feed control is crucial for this system to be effective as it allows fresh powder to be integrated into the system while also enabling recirculated powder to be incorporated.
