Thousands of brands of mobile batteries exist and we suspect that the most extravagant ones do not really have production capacity. Today this type of battery has become a corporate gift or promotional item. Brands of toothpaste distribute it and some large groups do not hesitate to propose to their employees. In short, you will understand that there are far fewer manufacturers than distributors of these products.
ARMDevices Charbax visited one of these mobile battery makers. Veger, a brand totally unknown in Europe but which produces one million of these machines per month and distributes them all over the world. China, South Korea of course but also of the countries of Europe, the Middle East and elsewhere. The brand does not sign its products, it makes them for others who will put their logo on it. A tariff idea? A batch of 1000 bare 5000 mAh batteries, without marking or packaging, costs only $ 3.9 each. Products that will be sold between 19.90 € in specialized store and 39.90 € in airport. We understand better why everyone has thrown into this portable charging market.
The first video above shows how these 5000 mAh batteries are manufactured. The chain is raised a little in the disorder but one can easily find the stages of this manufacture.
We begin by testing the battery modules, history not to assemble a defective module for nothing ... They are then glued together with adhesive tape.
The batteries are made up of flat cells that are assembled together to achieve the desired capacity. The legs of two modules here are straightened together to be welded.
Then comes the step of connecting the two 2500 mAh batteries to each other to obtain the necessary 5000 mAh at the request of the customer. The cone located in front of the operator serves to aspirate the fumes coming from the weld. The brush stroke passed beforehand makes it possible to coat the connectors with a flux facilitating the "grip" of the weld.
The electronic part is tiny. The components required to recharge the battery are integrated in a small piece of PCB of a few square centimeters. Here we see plates of 10 modules still assembled together. The operator prepares the welding of the cable by installing welding "drops" on the points of contact.
The flat cable has been welded by another operator and it is now necessary to connect the battery to the component. An operation done in a few moments.
During this time, both sides of the casing are prepared and assembled.
Then an operator integrates the components into the shell.
Test phases then take place to verify that the elements communicate well together.
A thermo-welding press? - will then serve to assemble the two faces once the component and the battery inserted.
Production is progressing at a steady pace, with several identical chains, Verger can produce a lot of products every day.
Then comes a test and load chain. It is more prudent for the brand to charge its mobile batteries. On the one hand this makes it possible to detect abnormalities and to avoid sending models that will return in SAV. Then the storage of these elements can last for some time. From shipment to wholesaler, from wholesaler to distributor and from distributor to customer. It must at all costs that the battery arrives at 0% of charge to barely damage its cells. Load it to block will also allow the end customer to enjoy it immediately.
Laser engraving or printing systems can then easily customize mobile batteries at the customer's request.
The result is variable. Everything is possible from a color printing to a simple laser engraved logo.
Obviously not all batteries are assembled in this way and there are other factories with different assembly protocols. From the quality of electronics to the embedded cells, there is an aristocracy in the world of mobile batteries. This is generally felt when testing these . Veger does not seem to produce high-end and its circuit protection is not the most sophisticated compared to a battery more famous brand.
This second video shows us a more recent visit of this same factory. The company continues its business and has evolved its product range but overall we realize that the design is almost identical. A lot of things are always amazing in this type of video. first of all, that this "factory" is located in a building and not in an off-center area as is practiced here. A few floors of a building are enough to create a factory of this kind, despite the fact that the batteries are very sensitive to fire. A start of fire in the test room would be catastrophic and yet a floor higher there may be housing .
Assembly tasks are very repetitive and some employees perform these actions completely automatically. One tends to forget this detail but to manufacture a battery to 3.9 $ in China it is necessary to use a staff that will be little by little totally lobotomized. Even if it should be possible to change the station, the passage from the assembly to the weld should not be particularly pleasing.
The number of people employed is enormous, in France there is obviously a tendency to robotize part of the chain - the trend also exists in China - but most assemblers of this type must be able to react rapidly in the event of changes in demand. Making an inevitable product that will not go out of fashion like a ball bearing or a tire will inevitably be robotized. On the other hand, in order to propose a new design, it is necessary to employ employees in numbers, recalibrate a robot would be too complex and long to set up. This factory can completely change production design in minutes. Simply feed the casing differently. when a battery command is honored for a customer, we can move on to the next design.
How are mobile batteries manufactured in Asia? A small tour at Veger © MiniMachines.net . 2016
Source : MiniMachines.net