Our webinar on custom battery packs gives an insider look of the battery Development Timeline and Expectations. This walk through guide introduces you to the necessary steps that will get you from concept to production. A clear set of expectations is laid out to ensure there are no blind spots in our customers’ plan.

1.  Custom Battery Packs
Development Timeline and
Expectations
01.31.14
 DELIVERING QUALITY SINCE 1952.

2. 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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3. 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

It is difficult to develop a battery pack
with a protection circuit, fuel gauging and
charging circuitry without a lot of detail
Biggest Mistake: Leaving out a critical detail that changes the entire
project, the development, costs/time and the final piece price.
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4. Step 2 -Scope Development

Engineering will then complete the first draft of the
battery 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) can
add time the scope development

Biggest Mistake: Many companies don’t have
the resources to truly understand the project so
they tend to exclude detail necessary to meet the
customers objectives.
The Project scope should include
drawings such as this which help
everyone better understand how the
product will look.
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5. Development Scope Should Include
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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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6. 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 in
order to allow us to engineer a solution that fits, if possible.
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7. 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:
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• 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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8. 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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9. 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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10. 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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11. 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.

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

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.
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12. 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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13. 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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14. 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 benches
Proper fire protection systems for
lithium
IPC Trained Soldering Techs
Backup Test and Programming
equipment
IPC certified inspectors for PCB’s and
cables (IPC 600 & 620)
Vacuum Chambers for potting and
encapsulation
Barcoding and lot traceability
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15. It takes investment…….
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State of the Art Manufacturing Facility – New Bedford, MA
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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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16. 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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17. 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.
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Make sure that you have enough time in your development plan to get your
regulatory approvals.
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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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18. Our Products
Battery Packs
Flex & Rigid-Flex PCB’s
User Interfaces
Fans & Motors
Cable Assemblies
Printed Circuit Boards
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19. Design Centers & Technical Support
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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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20. Q&A

Questions?
– Enter any questions you may have
in the Control Panel.
– If we don’t have time to get to it, we
will reply via email.
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21. Thank You
Check out our previous webinars at www.epectec.com.
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