Autonomous Visual Detection of Defects from Battery Electrode Manufacturing

Advanced Intelligent Systems, vol. 4

Abstract

The increasing global demand for high‐quality and low‐cost battery electrodes poses major challenges for battery cell production. As mechanical defects on the electrode sheets have an impact on the cell performance and their lifetime, inline quality control during electrode production is of high importance. Correlation of detected defects with process parameters provides the basis for optimization of the production process and thus enables long‐term reduction of reject rates, shortening of the production ramp‐up phase, and maximization of equipment availability. To enable automatic detection of visually detectable defects on electrode sheets passing through the process steps at a speed of 9 m s −1 , a You‐Only‐Look‐Once architecture (YOLO architecture) for the identification of visual detectable defects on coated electrode sheets is demonstrated within this work. The ability of the quality assurance (QA) system developed herein to detect mechanical defects in real time is validated by an exemplary integration of the architecture into the electrode manufacturing process chain at the Battery Lab Factory Braunschweig.

Authors 12

1. Nirmal Choudhary

   Karlsruhe Institute of Technology · Helmholtz-Institute Ulm

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) Helmholtzstr. 11 89081 Ulm Germany

   Institute of Physical Chemistry (IPC) Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Fritz-HaberWeg 2 76131 Karlsruhe Germany

   Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU), Helmholtzstr. 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany

   Institute of Physical Chemistry (IPC), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Fritz-HaberWeg 2, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

2. Henning Clever Aachen Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM)

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) RWTH Aachen University Bohr 12 52 072 Aachen Germany

   Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM), RWTH Aachen University, Bohr 12, 52 072 Aachen, Germany

3. Robert Ludwigs Aachen Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM)

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) RWTH Aachen University Bohr 12 52 072 Aachen Germany

   Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM), RWTH Aachen University, Bohr 12, 52 072 Aachen, Germany

4. Michael Rath Aachen Information Management in Mechanical Engineering (IMA)

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Information Management in Mechanical Engineering (IMA) RWTH Aachen University Dennewartstr. 27 52068 Aachen Germany

   Information Management in Mechanical Engineering (IMA), RWTH Aachen University, Dennewartstr. 27, 52068 Aachen, Germany

5. Aymen Gannouni Aachen Information Management in Mechanical Engineering (IMA)

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Information Management in Mechanical Engineering (IMA) RWTH Aachen University Dennewartstr. 27 52068 Aachen Germany

   Information Management in Mechanical Engineering (IMA), RWTH Aachen University, Dennewartstr. 27, 52068 Aachen, Germany

6. Arno Schmetz

   Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production

   Affiliation as printed

   Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB Mendelstraße 11 48149 Münster Germany

7. Tom-Hendrik Hülsmann

   Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production

   Affiliation as printed

   Fraunhofer Research Institution for Battery Cell Production FFB Mendelstraße 11 48149 Münster Germany

8. Julia Sawodny

   Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   WBK Institute of Production Science Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Kaiserstrasse 12 76131 Karlsruhe Germany

   WBK Institute of Production Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstrasse 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

9. Leon Fischer

   Karlsruhe Institute of Technology · Helmholtz-Institute Ulm

   Affiliation as printed

   Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) Helmholtzstr. 11 89081 Ulm Germany

   Institute of Physical Chemistry (IPC) Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Fritz-HaberWeg 2 76131 Karlsruhe Germany

   Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU), Helmholtzstr. 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany

   Institute of Physical Chemistry (IPC), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Fritz-HaberWeg 2, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

10. Achim Kampker Aachen Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM)

    RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM) RWTH Aachen University Bohr 12 52 072 Aachen Germany

    Chair of Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components (PEM), RWTH Aachen University, Bohr 12, 52 072 Aachen, Germany

11. Juergen Fleischer

    Karlsruhe Institute of Technology

    Affiliation as printed

    WBK Institute of Production Science Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Kaiserstrasse 12 76131 Karlsruhe Germany

    WBK Institute of Production Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kaiserstrasse 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

12. Helge Sören Stein corresponding

    Karlsruhe Institute of Technology · Helmholtz-Institute Ulm

    Affiliation as printed

    Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU) Helmholtzstr. 11 89081 Ulm Germany

    Institute of Physical Chemistry (IPC) Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Fritz-HaberWeg 2 76131 Karlsruhe Germany

    Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU), Helmholtzstr. 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany

    Institute of Physical Chemistry (IPC), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Fritz-HaberWeg 2, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany