Lab cell up and running!
Tuesday, 19 April 2022
Over the past two years, Robafoam have been working on an exciting new venture. In 2020, we opened our first Battery Electric Vehicle lab cell, with the support of both the Coventry & Warwickshire Green Business Programme and Coventry City Council.
The robotic cell is part of our R&D Technical Centre and is situated in our second unit, across the road from the current production site in Leamington Spa. Its main purpose is to provide support and testing for automotive customers. This includes designers and those who work in R&D who have been tasked with helping Britain achieve the government set goal of only producing fully electric vehicles by 2030.
One of the most significant and demanding challenges for the production of BEVs is the sealing of the large battery packs. Water ingress can obviously result in a significant fire hazard. A current option includes bonding the packs together with an adhesive which, although ensures a very effective seal, makes the separation of the pack for necessary servicing very difficult.
That’s where Robafoam’s sealing solution comes into play. Our robotically applied foam can provide high performance water-tight IP rated seals which overcome many of the problems presented by these companies. Battery packs can be opened and closed without needing to remove the seal or causing the effectiveness of the seal to be compromised. Our Technical Centre has been designed to accommodate the size of the battery packs required for electric vehicles, to help with both R&D purposes and for full production requirements too.
The current work taking place at the Gigafactory just outside Coventry makes Robafoam perfectly placed to support these automotive companies as we move forward into a greener way of life. We look forward to showcasing our sealing capabilities at the Vehicle Electrification Expo on 29th and 30th June.