DELIVERING QUALITY SINCE 1952.

Custom Battery Packs

Development Timeline and Expectations

01.31.14

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Today’s Objective

Familiarize engineers with the steps necessary to get from concept to production

Make sure that the battery pack is not the gate to product introduction due to the required regulatory approvals

Create a clear set of expectations that allows our customers to plan accordingly

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Battery Pack Application Review – Step 1

Obtain all documented and non-documented information on the battery project so that our development team can review internally.

Project Questionnaire – All of the needed information

Basics– Voltage– Capacity– Size Restrictions– Charging Type– # of cycles required– Many, many others

Biggest Mistake: Leaving out a critical detail that changes the entire project, the development, costs/time and the final piece price.

It is difficult to develop a battery pack with a protection circuit, fuel gauging and charging circuitry without a lot of detail

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Step 2 -Scope Development

Engineering will then complete the first draft of thebattery pack project proposal. Which will include:– Development timeline and costs(if any)– Regulatory Requirements with costs and timing.– Budgetary Piece Price Based upon current information

Mechanical design (plastic or steel enclosures) canadd time the scope development

Biggest Mistake: Many companies don’t havethe resources to truly understand the project sothey tend to exclude detail necessary to meet thecustomers objectives. The Project scope should include

drawings such as this which help everyone better understand how the

product will look.

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Development Scope Should Include

Cell selection and qualification testing Mechanical design of external plastic enclosure Electrical design of internal electronics (including

protection circuits, fuel gauges, serial communications buses (SMBus, I2C, HDQ), LED indicators, battery authentication, cell balancing, and embedded charger)

Preliminary and Detailed Design Reviews Electrical and mechanical prototyping Environmental testing (temperature, shock &

vibration, humidity, ESD, EMI, altitude, water ingress)

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Step 3 - Scope Refinement

The customer and engineering team will review the proposals to determine if the scope meets all of the objectives.

Give and takes are discussed and addressed.

Biggest Drivers– Final Production Costs– Pack Performance versus cost– True need for features

Biggest Mistake: Not working with the supplier to understand the cost pressures and targets inorder to allow us to engineer a solution that fits, if possible.

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Step 4 – Pack Development Begins

Typically requires a financial commitment from the customer.

Next Steps– Designing the control, fuel gauging and protection circuitry– Creating the Gerber data and BOM to manufacture the circuits– Procuring all the required materials to produce the prototypes which could include:

• Custom Plastic Housings, labels, and gasketing

• PCBA’s, connectors

• Battery Cells

• Cables, fuses and thermistors

– All mechanical drawings– Developing the test equipment and protocall– Assembly and mfg instructions– Delivering prototypes to customer

This could take anywhere from 4 – 20 weeks depending upon the level of prototyping the customer requests

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Exception

Simpler packs (NiMH, NiCd and Alkaline) don’t require as much up front work and can be completed much quicker.

Still need to be sure that all of the operating parameters are discussed.

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Step 5 – Prototype Delivery

Prototypes delivered for bench testing to ensure fit and function.

Typically delivered to customer before final documentation is completed by manufacturer.

This is the step where mechanical and electrical changes are still feasible.

The time between this step and the next step depends on customer testing requirements.

At this point 90% of the development work is complete.

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Step 7 – Regulatory Approvals

UL/CE Approval– This step requires a submission lot of 52 battery packs that will be used for

destructive testing. – This will take a minimum of 12 weeks to certify as soon as the test agency has all

materials and documentation required.

IATA/DOT Approval– Lithium batteries ONLY.– Done before UL approval so any changes can be incorporated.– The required amount of batteries needed for this certification testing is based on the

size and capacity of the battery pack. It can range from 16-26 batteries; they will be used for destructive testing.

– An additional 4 weeks is necessary for the test agency to certify once they have received all materials and documentation required.

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What is IATA DOT Testing?

The IATA (International Air Transport Association) is a certification regarding the handling of dangerous goods to be able to ship (Lithium) by air. It is not a specific test certification for a product but guidelines and training to be able to manage.

The UN / DOT 38.3 testing is a specific test for a lithium product that is performed by a third party. This testing is mandatory to ship any lithium air transit. The test that will determine that the product meets an 8 point safety destructive test and can be shipped air transit (above the IATA guidelines) and won’t be considered as a safety risk.

Epec is certified to manage the shipping of Lithium products by air transit under their described guidelines. (specific quantities, weight per box, labeling, etc.) – A COMPANY MUST PASS A COURSE TO DO THIS

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Step 8 – Production Tools Finalized

After regulatory approvals are complete, several additional things need to be completed prior to full blown production can begin.

The firmware must be finalized, programming procedures developed, and a mechanism to

program the battery pack finalized.

The final test programs, fixtures and equipment must be completed and gone thru preliminary

testing.

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Step 9 - Production Begins

A qualified manufacturing facility must be designed & equipped to:

1. Quickly design, develop, and prototype new battery packs.

2. Manufacture the complete battery pack in house.

3. Provide immediate technical support to customers.

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What makes a facility capable?

In order to properly and consistently produce high quality battery packs, a facility must invest in numerous areas:

ESD Flooring and benchesProper fire protection systems for lithiumIPC Trained Soldering TechsBackup Test and Programming equipmentIPC certified inspectors for PCB’s and cables (IPC 600 & 620)Vacuum Chambers for potting and encapsulationBarcoding and lot traceability

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It takes investment…….

State of the Art Manufacturing Facility – New Bedford, MA

– Resistance Welders

– Ultrasonic Plastic Welders

– PCB Assembly & Test

– Heat Shrink Ovens

– Weld Pull Testers

– Cable Cutting & Stripping

– CNC Drilling & Routing

– Test Stations• National Instruments

• Tektronix

– X-Ray Fischerscope

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Common Misperceptions

Battery Pack Manufacturers have common PCM’s that can be dropped in any application.– While many of us have a basic framework to use, every application is different

Battery Cells can be expedited to improve delivery– Lithium cells have a 4 week curing period that cannot be shortened.– Many of the larger companies don’t keep stock due to shelf life concerns

It is a much easier solution to put the charging and fuel gauging circuits on the product PCB.– This leads to confusion and to a lack of accountability

Anyone can ship lithium batteries– Must be certified

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In summary

Invest time at the Scope Development stage working with your vendor to make sure that they understand your application.

Leave the battery circuitry to the battery companies.

Make sure that you have enough time in your development plan to get your regulatory approvals.

Share your cost constraints early in the process so that the correct decisions can be made on cells and manufacturing location.– We can design in the US and build in Asia

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Our Products

Battery Packs Flex & Rigid-Flex PCB’s User Interfaces

Fans & Motors Cable Assemblies Printed Circuit Boards

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Design Centers & Technical Support

Battery Pack & Power Management – Denver, CO User Interfaces – Largo, FL Fans & Motors – Wales, UK PCB’s – New Bedford, MA & Shenzhen, China Flex & Rigid Flex – Toronto, Canada Cable Assemblies – New Bedford, MA

Our Engineering and Design teams are ready to help our customers create world class and cost effective product solutions.

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Q&A

Questions?– Enter any questions you may have

in the Control Panel.

– If we don’t have time to get to it, wewill reply via email.

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Thank YouCheck out our previous webinars at www.epectec.com.

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