Vacuum batch conveyor on dosing containers, both from Hosokawa Solids

Systems for the production of thermally conductive silicone rubbers

Uaktualniono : 19/08/2024 - An important component of accumulators in the automotive industry

When manufacturing rechargeable batteries for the automotive industry, efficient temperature management is essential. It serves to efficiently dissipate the heat from the electronic components, e.g. the batteries or the line electronics. This extends the service life of the components and improves their performance at the same time. Without effective temperature management, the components would overheat and be damaged, which is why the use of thermally conductive silicone rubbers is a very important part of battery technology.

Previously, the customer Wacker produced these rubbers in a batch process, but throughput was limited. This was to be modernised and a continuous process was developed which improved the overall throughput. The decision was made in favour of HOSOKAWA Solids Solutions from Schwabmünchen, which offers complete systems for solids handling. Their dosing system was integrated into the continuous production process, thereby increasing throughput. ”It was important for the customer to take over a fully developed and trouble-free system,” says Tobias Meixner, Teamlead Sales & Marketing at HOSOKAWA Solids Solutions, who supervised the project from start to finish.

Emptying, conveying and dosing from a single source

Rotating bowl scale with dosing container and vibratory dosing screws, all from Hosokawa Solids — Rotating bowl scale with dosing container and vibratory dosing screws

Big bags filled with aluminium hydroxide, aluminium oxide and zinc oxide are emptied using six solids big bag dischargers. The products are then transported through 12 pneumatic conveyor lines. The ”Solids Vacu-Fill” dense phase vacuum conveying process is an advantage here, as it only requires a low headroom at the feed point. This conveying method also offers a versatile and cost-effective solution for short conveying distances without the risk of blockages. After transport, the batches are dosed into 2 rotary pan weighers.

Ready for further processing

The Nauta® mixer from Hosokawa Micron B.V. is used to mix the individual components. The homogenised products are then conveyed segregation-free by two dense phase vacuum conveyors and finally the powder mixture is dosed into two batch buffer containers using the on-site integrated loss-in-weight feeder (with a dosing accuracy of ± 50 g) and transported away for further processing.