ACP Systems AG (Hall 4, Booth B 04) will demonstrate the quattroClean snow blasting technology, a dry and sustainable cleaning solution for a multitude of tasks encountered in lithium-ion battery and fuel cell production, at this year’s parts2clean. The method is simple to integrate into automated manufacturing systems and is already being utilised in a variety of series applications, such as cleaning joining surfaces prior to touching battery cells.
Lithium-ion batteries account for a significant portion of the added value in an electric car or stationary energy storage equipment. Their production has resulted in a variety of new and modified components cleaning chores.
Acp systems AG will demonstrate its quattroClean snow blasting technology, a dry, effective, and relatively cost cleaning method that is easily integrated into automated battery and fuel cell production plants, at this year’s parts2clean. The technology allows for the reliable and repeatable removal of not only particle contamination down to the submicrometer range, but also filmic-chemical contamination from partial or full surfaces. The cleaning medium is non-corrosive liquid carbon dioxide produced as a by-product of chemical processes and energy generation from biomass. As a result, it is climate neutral.
The method is already being used to mass-produce lithium-ion batteries in a variety of applications. These include cleaning the contact surfaces of prismatic, cylindrical (round), and pouch battery cells, as well as lead frames and printed circuit board bonding surfaces. Because even minor contamination on joining surfaces might result in insufficient contact, particle and filmic contamination must be eliminated to assure performance and safety.
Hydrogen-atmospheric oxygen fuel cells are also made using the dry technique. It is used to clean stainless steel alloy bipolar plates following laser processing, for example. This leaves spatter remains on the surfaces, reducing efficiency and necessitating their complete removal. Particulate and filmic contaminants from pre-processes such as punching are also cleaned using the dry, residue-free cleaning procedure. The wear-free dual-substance ring nozzle of the quattroClean system is responsible for the system’s superior cleaning results.
Liquid carbon dioxide enters the nozzle and expands to generate fine CO2 crystals as it exits. These are then packed and propelled to supersonic speed by a separate jacket jet of compressed air. It’s simple to focus the jet on a certain location. Four effective techniques (heat, mechanical, solvent, and sublimation) ensure the reliable removal of impurities when they impinge on the cleaning surface. The compressed air’s aerodynamic force blows these away from the surface, and the integrated suction mechanism expels them from the cleaning module. The treated surfaces/parts are dry and can be fed directly to the next step in the production chain because the crystalline carbon dioxide sublimates completely during the cleaning step.
The quattroClean cleaning system’s flexibility and small size allow it to be put practically anywhere in an automated battery or fuel cell production line. Through tests in ACP's technical centre, the process is designed and tested according to client and application requirements. A sensor system monitors the uniformity of the jet at each nozzle to ensure consistent results. The blasting period, as well as the supply of compressed air and CO2 to the nozzles, are all monitored. The measured values are automatically saved and can be sent to a superordinate system using conventional interfaces to obtain complete production data. Acp systems AG will be exhibiting at parts2clean in Hall 4, Stand B 04, Messe Stuttgart, 5 to 7 October 2021.
