With multiple installations around the world, technical expertise and an innovative approach, SECO/WARWICK’s CAB solution is the preferred joining technology for battery cooling plates within the hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and electric vehicles (EV) market.
For decades, SECO/WARWICK has played a fundamental role in the evolution and innovations in CAB technologies, providing its customers with the finest system value and professional technical services, keeping equipment online and operating efficiently.
SECO/WARWICK’s CAB as the most efficient solution
Currently, there are a few types of joining technologies* for battery cooling plates within the HEV/EV market, which is related to the fact that the industry is still in the infancy of the Product Life Cycle. This means that the product continues to be in the process of development and is still in the active research and testing stage for the 1st and 2nd generation EV released onto the market. Other factors, including small volumes, even prototype designs, speed to market and lack of experience present organizational challenges.
The selection of joining technology depends on various factors. For battery cooling plates, brazing is more flexible in geometric designs. Controlled Atmosphere Brazing (CAB) produces higher productivity in comparison to alternative methods*. CAB is the most cost-efficient at a high volume with respect to cost per unit per production methods. Vacuum Brazing (VB) requires an extremely clean surface with low productivity. Laser welding on the other hand, has potential for higher speeds, 7-10 m/min, but at high cost, while the low welding speed (<0,5 m/min) is the largest barrier for Friction Stir Welding (FSW). Laser Welding’s challenge is that concentrated heat may influence the properties of thin plates, and there is a need to design working path for new models.
There are many companies involved in producing batteries, among them – automotive producers. Obviously, the challenging part is to build engines that will work reliably in various conditions, whether it is driving an EV in Southern countries where temperatures are really high, or through freezing landscapes. Experienced manufacturers of automotive parts, followed by manufacturers new to the market, choose market-proven solution with a safety guarantee, like a controlled atmosphere brazing line designed by SECO/WARWICK.
Fueled by SECO/WARWICK’S CAB technology
Since 1984, SECO/WARWICK has played a fundamental role in the evolution and innovations in CAB technologies, providing its customers the finest system value and professional technical services, keeping their equipment online and operating efficiently.
“SECO/WARWICK has provided its solutions to the biggest trendsetters in automotive industry. Apart from them, in 2018, our lines were also utilized in a greenfield project in India for a production of a wide variety of high quality products and by a heat exchanger manufacturer for the automotive industry. It is also worth mentioning that SECO/WARWICK has delivered and commissioned the innovative, one of its kind vacuum purge semi-continuous Active Only® CAB furnace for a North American automotive aftermarket manufacturer,” said Piotr Skarbiński, VP Aluminium Process and CAB at SECO/WARWICK.
SECO/WARWICK is a well-known CAB Brazing technology creator and one of the world’s most experienced supplier. Dozens of patents and R&D projects, thousands of deployed solutions and CAB Brazing customers in more than 30 countries are proof of its technological expertise, and the reason why companies like NBR or KCPL choose SECO/WARWICK.
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*Various types of joining technologies for battery cooling plates
Even though the industry is in a development phase, there are various types of joining technologies for battery cooling plates within the HEV/EV market:
A. Brazing, a process in which two metal items are joined together by melting and flowing a filler metal into the joint,
- Vacuum brazing is performed in a designed furnace in the absence of air,
- Controlled Atmosphere Brazing (CAB) replaces the atmosphere in the furnace chamber with industrial gases.
B. Welding – joins metals by using high heat to melt the parts together, distinct from brazing which do not melt the base metal.
- Laser Welding is joining pieces of metal through the use of a laser
- Friction Stir Welding (FSW) is a joining process that uses a tool to join two facing workpieces without melting the workpiece material
- Roll Bonding – a cold welding process through flat rolling of sheet metals
