welding-apprenticeship

Step 1 Electrode Sheet Preparation Furnace: raw active material (Cathode & Anode) Milling Machine: grind & normalize the sintered material Mixer: mix active, conductive, and binder material into slurry under vacuum Coater: apply layer(s) of slurry onto current collector and dry it with an attached heater Rolling Press (calendar): compress the electrode to a desired thickness/density Step 2 Cell Assembly Winding Method Slitting Machine: slit/cut electrode sheet to strips of desired size Ultrasonic Welding Machine: joining of multi-layer electrodes, and/or tabs to collectors Winding Machine: form layers of Anode, Separator, and Cathode into a cell core Short-circuit Detector: test for integrity of the cell Vacuum Oven: remove any moister within the cell Step 3 Case Sealing Spot Welding Machine: allow contact to be made from cell to bottom of case (grounding) Grooving machine: create indent on the neck of case to allow for proper seal (after inserting the cell core) Welding Machin...

  Solar power is booming, with millions of metric tons of solar panels being produced each year. A panel has a projected lifespan of about 25 years, which means that today’s new solar farms will go out of service in the late 2040s. Most of the weight in a solar panel, about 75 percent, is glass, aluminum, with 10 percent; wiring in a junction box, at 5 percent; and silicon, with just 3.5 percent. Dedicated recyclers are needed, the authors write, to do a more thorough job of recycling all the components of a panel—including the crystalline silicon in the photovoltaic cells themselves. Silicon wafers account for about half the cost of a panel, as well as over half the energy and carbon footprint of manufacturing a panel. But silicon isn't currently being targeted for recycling much because the recovered silicon isn't pure enough to go straight back to a wafer manufacturer. Studies show that the impurity levels are an important issue during the recycling processes.  Th...