There are many challenges faced by the Indian battery industry in sourcing laser welding and assembly lines from China. Many customers have reported issues with service and maintenance contracts, poor quality components, and a lack of technical expertise among distributors. In this article, Shipra Sinha talks about overcoming Battery Assembly Challenges in India through local integration of Automated Laser Systems and Assembly Lines, and why it is time for the industry to shift towards a local supply chain that can provide personalized service and support.
EV battery technology is evolving and improving dramatically at a very rapid pace as we do not have stable products yet! This evolving technology directly affects the choice of cells, metals used as busbars and necessary changes required in the design of battery packs and modules.
Especially with ongoing amendments like AIS 156, where traceability of cells, data tracking, analytics and process security are vital, it becomes very important to make the right choices for assembly lines which has the ability to accommodate relevant changes with on-time service and support. Now, there seems to be a huge problem with machines imported from China creating a lot of service and support barriers.
Challenges associated with Imported Chinese Laser Machines
As per the issues we have closely observed, it’s very clear that buying laser welding and assembly lines from China literally means buying machines without any service and maintenance contract. It might be hard to digest for a few but this is the reality!
Being in the laser and battery assembly line manufacturing segment, I receive calls from multiple customers asking for support required for Laser Welding systems they got from China.
- Some wanted us to help with their non-functional welding machines.
– Some were worried about high consumption of optics leading to a huge surge in operating expenses
- Some were not happy with their weld quality and wanted to understand why the weld strength wasn’t sufficient to weld their battery connections
- Some wanted to integrate standalone laser welding systems into their assembly lines
- Some wanted to have weld monitoring systems integrated in their existing laser welding machines
– Some complained about weld monitoring systems giving false readings
– Some were unable to cope up with the English-Chinese language communication barrier
To our surprise, we also noticed that the majority of the problems the customers faced were due to the wrong selection of machine specs as compared to what the application actually demanded. A wrong choice of lasers, optics and PLCs was causing huge issues keeping customers wondering about the reasons for system failures. A lot of cheap welding systems seemed to have been dumped into the Indian market without actually understanding the requirement of the customers.
At Light Mechanics, we tried our best to resolve the service issues by replacing lasers, welding heads, components & accessories, but faced huge challenges in trying to reprogram/ fine-tune programming done in Chinese language and coping with machine interlocks which makes assembly integration & servicing of these laser systems really very difficult and complicated to address!
Why does the Service/ Support issue arise?
The battery welding machines and assembly lines are basically bought from China either as Direct Imports or through Distributors/Intermediaries. In both cases, we see a lot of issues with their service and support. The intermediaries/distributors who sell these machines are not properly trained to handle machine reconfiguration and immediate service requirements. There are various issues that cannot be solved online and might require factory visits to attend to and rectify them.
The technical know-how of the distributors is only available to a limited extent and ultimately customers are likely to be on their own to test their craftsmanship. The spare parts are also rarely available with the distributors. In case of a machine breakdown, the whole process of verifying the damage and shipping new components from china can waste around 45-60 days easily leading to long downtimes and delays in production. In addition, heavy shipping charges also need to be borne by the customers.
Moreover, in case a minor fine-tuning in the line is required as per changes in the ongoing design, the distributor is of no help as they have no expertise in manufacturing! And finally, if there is no one who solves your problem, everything comes to a standstill. This I feel is a wake-up call for the Indian Battery industry!
The Advantage Of Indian Integrators Providing Turnkey Solutions?
The entire EV and Battery industry is on a real learning curve with the technology that is new and continuously evolving. Therefore you need your automation line to be flexible, as your designs will change and evolve rapidly. And doing all this without local support is an almost impossible task. Moreover, there is always a direct line of communication locally keeping the chances of miscommunication and confusion to minimal as there is no one in the middle to misinterpret the communication between the manufacturer and the seller.
Light Mechanics is one of a kind automation company which provides laser welding and fully automated battery assembly lines starting from cell sorting to end-of-line testing. We are investing a lot in R&D and working with our customers as partners to build highly efficient battery automated lines battery to meet customers’ demands to meet expected production volumes with on-time service and support.
As an OEM we understand what works and what doesn’t and more importantly, we understand “The why of what actually works” and are fully committed to providing our technical expertise in selecting the right BOM and flexible automation. Quality products, quick turnaround time, timely delivery and personalized service are all that Light Mechanics stands for!
I believe it’s high time the industry needs to move from Vendors to Partners and consider local integrators and assembly line builders who will stand by what they commit to deliver and make battery assembly a smooth and hassle-free process. So, next time when you plan to procure a laser or battery assembly line from China through direct imports or local distributors, be aware of the pitfalls before an evil awakening strikes and you are left holding the baggage!
