CASE STUDY
Optimizing Lithium Production for Electric Vehicles Using OAV Air Bearings
Utilizing the principles of fluid dynamics and pneumatics to achieve frictionless high-speed precision, OAV products take advantage of this realm in a multitude of industries. Facilitating the creation of high-quality results while simultaneously increasing efficiency and reducing costs is what OAV strives to achieve for its consumers. Company (Non-Disclosed) is an OEM for custom automated equipment ranging from rolling mills, processing equipment, exotic metals, to medical and pharmaceutical needs.
At Company (Non-Disclosed), the mechanical engineering team, responsible for overseeing the calculations and designs, utilized the OAV Air Bearings to create tension stands for finite tension control for lithium metal, which are used in EVs. Lithium is an important element in the production of EVs. Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in EVs due to their high energy density, meaning that they can store a large amount of energy in a relatively lightweight and compact package to maximize range and efficiency, making them an ideal choice for use in EVs. In addition to batteries, lithium is also used in the production of other EV components, ranging from electric motors to control systems. Its demand is only continuing to grow.
To integrate the OAV Air Bearings into their system, the team at Company (Non-Disclosed) machined blocks with pockets on either side that then had the air bearings placed into them. The ambient environment of these air bearings is clean in a dry room, and the air bearings are undergoing approximately 10 pounds of load. Because extremely low friction was needed in order to achieve the tension for this metal processing, Company (Non-Disclosed) sought OAV to address the exigency.
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Image* EV lithium battery infrastructure
This material is based on work supported by Company (Non-Disclosed)