The annual output value of this small plastic part can reach 15 million yuan!
In the era of high oil prices, the popularity of hybrid vehicles has soared, and many people are not aware that battery technology is the key to hybrid vehicles, and the cost of batteries also accounts for more than 1/3 of the whole vehicle.
There is a small plastic part on the hybrid battery, which plays a big role, it is a fist product of Ningbo Hongde Zhongyue Technology Co., Ltd. - "48V battery electrode terminal cover".
When the fuel consumption of the hybrid vehicle is high such as starting and climbing, the battery is discharged to output kinetic energy, and when braking and decelerating, the electrodes recover the electric energy and store it into the battery to achieve the purpose of fuel saving and energy saving. Among them, the "hub" that undertakes the charge and discharge cycle between the battery and the system is the battery terminal cover.
"Don't look at it in a huge car, it's just a small part, but if something goes wrong, it will lead to battery scrapping or even a short circuit in the line causing spontaneous combustion." Xie Yuhua, director of the R&D department of Hongde Zhongyue, said.
Although the parts are small, they are very difficult to develop. "The problem with plastic parts** is that they are prone to deformation with temperature changes, so the deformation control of the product is crucial, which is also the technical difficulty of the product." According to Xie Yuhua, the battery electrode cover has a total of 5 sealing surfaces, including 8 electrode bronze medals, in the production process, the copper medals must be embedded first, and then through injection molding to form products. The deformation degree of each sealing surface should be controlled within 0.08 mm, and in the test stage, the product also needs to withstand the test of 4 times of cold and hot alternation in 8 hours, and the temperature difference is from 120 degrees to minus 40 degrees, which shows the strict technical requirements.
The R&D team of "Hongde Zhongyue" used mold flow analysis and temperature field simulation technology to tackle key problems for more than 3 months, and finally found a way. "We use program calculations to simulate the deformation of the product, and set different temperature fields in different parts of the mold to control the deformation trend of the plastic. For example, we control the fixed mold part at 60 degrees, the moving film between 80 degrees and 90 degrees, and only one pencil case-sized end cap, we have designed 6 different temperature field switching frequencies to ensure the accuracy of the product. Xie Yuhua explained. The company is also equipped with a fully automatic production line, using a manipulator to improve the speed of copper parts embedding, and it only takes 30 seconds to produce a battery electrode cover, which is shortened by more than half compared with the average production time in the same industry, and the quality consistency of the product is controlled.
At present, the 48V hybrid battery electrode cover being developed by "Hongde Zhongyue" can be used for well-known terminal brands such as Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, Geely and so on in the future, and the annual output value of this part alone is expected to reach 15 million yuan.
Small plastic parts can also produce a lot of value. "Hongde Zhongyue" is the research and development of automotive plastic functional parts and safety parts of the "expert", they are interested in the automotive lightweight demand for plastic parts is becoming more and more extensive, for example, part of the interior parts of the car, exterior parts, as well as the body inside the fuel tank accessories, pipelines, valves, battery end covers and other functional parts and safety parts, are also made of plastic, it can be said that small plastic parts are associated with the "internal organs" in the car, the prospect is very good.
There are many models, functions and categories of plastic parts, and "Hongde Zhongyue" wants to seize the market, and rapid research and development capabilities are indispensable.
In recent years, the company has attracted a number of R&D professionals in the field of materials with excellent working environment and good treatment, built an expert think tank, and accumulated sufficient technical reserves in the field of new materials for auto parts. At present, the company has 35 R&D technicians, and the annual R&D expenditure accounts for nearly 10% of the total sales.
"The development trend of new energy and lightweight will greatly expand the market share of automotive plastic parts, and next, we are also developing battery cooling pipes and accessories, as well as hydrogen fuel cell source pipeline seals, starting from the perspective of customer needs, developing functional parts and safety parts to meet different needs." Xie Yuhua is full of confidence. In recent years, the proportion of new energy products of the company has increased year by year, and in 2021, the turnover has exceeded 20%, the annual output value of the enterprise has reached more than 60 million yuan, and this year's target is to sprint to 90 million yuan in output value.
Source: Zhejiang Daily