Comments: How Lithium Polymer Batteries are Made
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Really like the tutorial. Protection circuit details helped me solve an issue already, and I have a better understanding of what's going on inside the batteries. Testing info makes me feel a lot better about things I've done to my batteries too. Very helpful. Much appreciation for the depth of detail here. Thank you!
An excellent piece of work. I'm impressed by your thoroughness. Keep 'em coming. I can't believe they let you film all of this!
At the point where the cell is constructed, initially charged, and excess removed, you state "At the end of all this, you have a battery. Technically, this is a single cell because the protection circuit and termination is still required."
Not quite. Technically, this is a single cell because there is only one electrochemical cell in the assembly. Adding the protection circuit and termination doesn't make it a battery, only a protected and terminated cell. A battery is a collection of connected (parallel, serial, or mixture) of cells. If you want to get technical about it. ;-)
Besides that, this is a very interesting article. It's really neat seeing all the steps that go into building LiPo cells.
Yea, I knew I was going to start a debate with a statement like that. Can a battery be a single terminated cell or does it have to be a collection of cells? Your cell phone battery is a single cell yet we still call it a battery. Not sure. Either way thanks for checking it out!
This is one of many cases of where "common usage" and "technical accuracy" are at complete loggerheads. Many people call a AA cell a battery... :-/
Technical accuracy states that a single cell (terminated or not) is just a single cell. In order to be a battery there needs to be multiple cells connected together.
But, common usage states that both individual cells and batteries of cells are all called "batteries".
Very interesting Lipo manufacturing plant tour! I want to see the test chambers at SparkFun !! I was a test engineer /technician who tested mil-spec 810c for 20 yrs. I conducted formal acceptance testing for TACFire Control Computer , Ground and Airborne Radars, Secure Voice & COMMs, Edwards AFB, Mission Control Rooms (all systems) and Formal Systems Test Planner for B2 bomber fleet at Edwards AFB, and all the this from the training at US NAVY Electronic Technician Schools. Radar & Secure Voice Class"A" Schools and Crypto Systems. Keep up the great video training, it will help many new kids to electronics. Wish I had a SparkFun as a kid! I might have completed my "Flying Saucer" Project. ET1 Mark J Colwell
Hi Mark! Thanks for the kind words. We have a few tutorials over here showing our test jigs but we don't have (as of yet) any destructive testing chambers. That sounds fun though... Now you've got me thinking. Perhaps we'll build a few some day but for now it's just pogo pins :)