In the lithium battery coating process, the speed increase, the widening of the width and the change of functional coating requirements all put forward higher challenges and requirements for the coating die of the core component of the coating equipment.
In the stock coating die market, imported products seem to be added with filters, which have always been admired by the market in the past. As a dark horse in the industry, Shenzhen Mannst Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Manst”) has gained a new market share in the coating die by virtue of its deep technical accumulation and word-of-mouth service. Rising steadily, carrying the banner of localization of coating die heads.
The person in charge of Manst said that the high-speed and wide-width changes of the coating machine have brought about a revolutionary change in technology. The flow length ratio will change at high speed. The original low-speed method may not be available at high speed. At the same time, different material systems such as lithium iron phosphate/ternary cathode and graphite/silicon-based anode are also considered. Differences and changes will occur.
"The widening of the width is more challenging to the die. On the one hand, it is necessary to improve the accuracy, and on the other hand, the design of the runner is more difficult. With the widening of the Some problems will be encountered when designing runners, and processing will also bring certain challenges." Manst's principal emphasized.
Gaogong Lithium learned that Manst, known for its customized coating die design, can design the flow channel of the coating die according to the process plans of different battery companies.
At present, the company has solved the stable coating problem of the high-speed coating machine with speed 120m/min-200m/min and width 1.5m-2m, and has been affirmed and endorsed by well-known domestic battery companies.
In the process of localization of coating die heads, what Manst wants is not only to overtake on corners, but also to press the fast forward button of development.
At present, Manst has established long-term stable cooperative relations with more than 95% of large and medium-sized battery factories in the country, including CATL, ATL, BYD, Guoxuan High-tech, Xinwangda, AVIC Lithium, Lishen, Coslight (Guanyu), Well-known domestic companies such as Gateway Power, Narada Power, Polyfluoride, Ganfeng Battery, Lixin Energy, and Xingheng Power.
The person in charge revealed that the power battery development in the European market is surging at this stage, and international battery companies are paying great attention to Chinese equipment and core component companies. With the support of core technology, actively deploying the European market and going international is the next focus of Manst's strategic plan.
Behind the rising market share
Gaogong Lithium understands that in the new coating die market share, most of the products come from Manst. Although there are still some battery manufacturers rejecting domestic die heads, as battery manufacturers strengthen the cost control of coating die heads, they have more detailed research and requirements on their own coating technology. Driven by the continuous advancement of head technology, substitution of imports will be the general trend.
Manst believes that the core technologies of domestic coating die heads mainly focus on processing technology, design capabilities, adaptability to diversified processes, and after-sales service. For Manst, it is precisely because of the following advantages that the market space can be further opened.
One is processing technology. The accuracy of the die head must be comparable to that of the imported die head, and a series of precision processing technologies such as materials and heat treatment must be available.
The second is a strong design team. As the core element of the accuracy of auxiliary machinery, the runner design must be reasonable. If the runner design is unreasonable, no matter how high the accuracy is, the die company must have deep technical precipitation and strong design capabilities.
During the interview, the person in charge mentioned a detail, that is, when designing the die, the company will design some "redundant" links, such as the width of the coating window, so that it can be tailored to the width of the coating window of different customers. Quick and low-cost corrections.
The company will also make simulations and predictions based on the customer's process at the beginning of the design. Once problems are found in the later stage, the company is also capable of solving them together with the customer.
"Such an ability cannot be achieved only by product plagiarism, and if there is a problem, you will not know how to correct it." And this detail also reflects Mannst's technical skills and design strength.
The third is to adapt to diversified needs. As battery companies have more and more functional requirements, such as the edge coating of the current collector and the emergence of diversified coatings, die heads must keep up in meeting functional requirements.
"Manst has made great efforts to meet the requirements of multi-functional coatings. The company has a full-layer coating R&D center. For us, it is not only necessary to make the die, but also to understand the entire coating process. Of course we don't sell crafts, but when there is a problem, we need to know the problem and be able to solve it." The person in charge said.
Fourth, after-sales service can keep up. In the pre-coating process, once there is a problem, there will be more factors involved. For a strong die head R&D team, it must be able to distinguish the problem and be able to help the battery factory solve the problem. This is also Manst One of the indispensable core values.
In fact, when importing die head companies expand the Chinese market, they encounter difficulties such as short product life and delayed maintenance and after-sales. This gives domestic coating die companies the opportunity to counterattack. Taking after-sales service as a breakthrough, reflecting the value of the company's technology, products and services, has also become an important path for Mannst's market development.
In the future, Manst will continue to rely on the above four advantages to reflect its own value by providing coating die products.
"So why is the die not just a processing industry? If it is treated as processing, the market will only become narrower and narrower. We will follow the path of combining technology and equipment, and go deeper and deeper into the path of die heads."
Follow the market closely to create value "labels"
After gaining results from the localization of coating die heads, Manst continued to follow the market closely, seek further breakthroughs in technological innovation and market paths, and create value-based labels to gain greater room for growth and achieve longer-term goals. development Goals.
What Manst has to do now is to press the fast forward button of its own development, not only to accelerate the replacement of imported products in the Chinese market, but also to be the first to deploy the European market to further expand its market share.
"Although the current stock market is still dominated by Japanese imported die heads, if Japan does not further realize its technology export, then their market in China will become smaller and smaller in the future, and the speed of domestic substitution will become faster and faster." Mann The person in charge of Stewart said.
The basis of its judgment is that with the continuous change and progress of domestic battery technology, the original Japanese coating die has more and more problems, and its weakness in after-sales service will contrast with the gradually strong problem-solving ability of domestic enterprises. , The competitive advantage of imported die heads from Japan will rapidly weaken.
Currently, the changes in battery technology, the emergence of multifunctional coatings, and the changes in market demand are forcing domestic coating die companies to continuously upgrade their technology, and Mannst is also enjoying the technological dividends brought about by market changes.
The person in charge of Manst's technology pointed out that the coating die is playing a role in some new technical processes including CTP schemes, cell size thickening, functional coating iterations, etc.; at the same time, the improvement of battery energy density and rate performance It is also contributing an important force, rooted in research and development. Since 2017, Manst has already provided related products for the lithium battery market.
In addition, the client was more concerned about the quality and steady-state performance of the die before, but now the client has gradually begun to pay attention to the dynamic process, so the fully automatic die has begun to generate certain market demand.
"The company has successfully developed fully automatic die heads as early as 2017. This year, the company has delivered nearly forty units to the market. Fully automatic die heads can automatically adapt to the process and achieve automatic adjustment, which requires the cooperation of artificial intelligence and deep learning. As early as a few years ago, a professional team in the field of artificial intelligence was formed." The person in charge revealed.
In order to further seize market share, Manst began to focus on the European market. "The company has had separate technical exchanges with battery companies in the European market. Power batteries in the European market are now developing rapidly. The coating die is finished in the Chinese market, and the European market will be launched soon."
Senior Engineer Lithium Battery understands that Manst has invited some returnees to join Ph.Ds, specializing in in-depth theoretical research and related research and development in related fields.
"From the perspective of product technology, there is no problem. But in terms of pure theory, there is still a certain gap between domestically produced parts and components to reach the level required by foreign countries. The European market likes to find the bottom of some things, so we will focus on supplementing theoretical research. Weakness of the block." Mannster said.
It is worth mentioning that in order to meet the increasing customer demand, Manst is preparing for capacity expansion. After completion, the maximum production capacity of the die factory will reach 2,000 sets per year.
