Improved Thermal Battery Assembly Techniques

"We propose to develop new thermal battery assembly techniques that will replace many of the manual assembly techniques currently in place at thermal battery manufacturing facilities. While it is realized that the manual assembly techniques are the causeof most battery quality issues and are thereby less than ideal, the mechanical properties associated with the battery components make automation difficult. Recent attempts to introduce automation into the assembly line have fallen short and introducedsimilar errors and inconsistencies to the final product. These prior attempts illuminate the difficulties involved in working with thermal battery components and serve as the starting point for our novel assembly concepts tailored specifically to theneeds of thermal batteries. Furthermore, these past attempts demonstrate the perils of applying standard automation practices to the fragile thermal battery systems. In Phase I, we will develop our concepts that have the unique possibility of operatingboth in manual and automated modes to offer battery manufacturers production flexibility. Our concepts will be demonstrated at one of the largest thermal battery manufacturing facilities and form the basis of a prototype system that will be developed inPhase II. The application-specific automation technologies developed under this SBIR program will lead to improved thermal battery quality and lower total ownership costs. Our developed techn