Tabwelder Setup

Tabwedler setup

Ok so we finally got the tab welder to do some constant OK welds. I am not 100% satisfied with the quality, but I give them a 80%... so it's not so bad. Either we stick with this quality or buy a new tab welder. To date this tab welder is far from being the best! We don't have much experience with tab welding, but we seem to have so much problems with it. We can't weld copper, we can't use tungsten rods, it's very hard to do constant welds on thin materials! We have a good setup and we will keep it.

I think the best solution is to do more welds per battery and we will be fine.

Next, I will be reviewing the nickel tab design to include a fuse in between each cell. It's a simple design solution and doesn't cost anything more. The guys that are converting a another Porsche from MIT documented this process. Pretty cool project they have! I also need to check how to machine does tabs... Laser or waterjet??? hmmm.

Quick note on our setup: We made up a rack to hold the welder higher off the ground, like this the battery packs can go underneath the welder. It is easier than making long and complicated extensions from the electrodes holders.