Lead Acid Battery
Lead Acid Battery
Lead Acid Battery
95
T h e B a t t e r y M a n • A p r i l 2 0 0 2 • Vo l u m e 4 4 • N u m b e r 4 • T h e F e d e r a l G r e e n M a c h i n e a n d E n e r S y s I n c .’s J o h n C r a i g
THE FEDERAL
GREEN MACHINE:
REAL-TIME CONSTANT
POWER FEEDBACK
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The manufacture of reliable, high-performance lead-acid Power (Vx I) with comprehensive monitoring and real-
batteries for use in demanding automotive, marine and time feedback mechanisms. By sensing and adapting for
industrial applications poses significant challenges in the differences in resistance in the lead castings as well as
arena of resistance welding. The central issue involves weld- other variations in the weld process (e.g. electrode wear,
ing together a series of lead castings, called “tombstones”, cabling, etc.), these systems can automatically maintain
which constitute the cores of the individual battery cells. Constant Power and consistent heating profiles at the
These lead tombstones must be linked together using con- weld nugget. As a result, Inverter controls using
sistent and precisely controlled weld nuggets in order to Constant Power feedback are able to deliver dramatical-
assure proper operation and long-life of the final battery ly increased yields while simultaneously eliminating the
assembly. inefficiencies and inconsistencies of operator-dependent
Unfortunately, the intrinsic properties of the lead castings process tweaking.
present a high level of variability that makes it very difficult
to achieve consistent results with traditional AC resistance Coping with Variability in “Tombstone” Resistance
welding processes, which are also susceptible to current As the molten lead moves from the smelting pot into the
spikes and inherent variability in the welding process. Even mold, its resistance properties begin a process of constant
the use of advanced AC weld controls, with more consistent change that can continue unabated for up to eight days after
secondary current output, is not enough to completely over- the casting has been extracted from the mold. Because the
come the dynamic vari- welding step must be
ability of the lead castings, sequenced downstream
Figure 1 - Porous and
requiring production floor from a number of other
Weakened Weld Nuggets
operators to constantly post-mold operations, such
Resulting from Inconsistent
tweak the weld parame- as hand-assembly of tomb-
The Battery Man / April 2002
welding solutions that expand process robustness and from weld to weld. Ultimately, the use of comprehensive
reduce excessive dependence on operator intervention. To Constant Power control is the only practical method for
achieve optimal quality and production output, while mini- ensuring uniform heating profiles in a situation where the
mizing both scrap and inefficiency, the resistance welding resistance of the materials being welded shows a significant
process itself must provide both a wider process window variation.
and the ability to automatically adapt to any changes that
could impact the integrity of the weld. For lead-acid battery manufacturing, a Constant Power
system is ideally suited to compensate for the differences in
Unitek Miyachi Corporation, via its Miyachi brand of resistance that occur as lead tombstone castings age during
resistance weld controls, has been researching the problem the production process and to automatically adjust the total
of welding lead acid batteries for several years. The power to deliver consistent levels of joule heating into the
Miyachi team has worked with leading companies in the weld nugget.
Lead Acid Battery Industry, such as Exide Technologies, to 69
➤
Constant Power Feedback