- Battery module and battery pack solutions must be frozen firstWeight, center of gravity, electrical state, permitted contact zones, and no-clamp zones。
- Fixtures should be established with clearMain load-bearing path, avoid using weak areas of the housing, connectors or cooling components as load-bearing points.
- Flip and positioning must be managed continuouslyChanges in center of gravity, maintenance of posture, and workwear close to each other。
- The release action should beThe load has been placed and load transfer completedAs a prerequisite, gas and power outages and abnormal identification are verified at the same time.
New energy vehicle power battery modules and battery packs usually have concentrated weight, large dimensions, and high value, and may have cooling plates, high-voltage connectors, sealing surfaces, and positioning structures. The handling solution must not only solve the problem of "lifting", but also ensure that the contact position is correct, the flip is controlled, the placement is confirmable, and the state remains predictable when energy or signal abnormalities occur.
01Freeze product status and transportation boundaries first
The same battery pack may have different risk boundaries when it is empty, under assembly, completed assembly, and under live testing. When starting the project, it should be clear whether the workpiece is live, whether it contains batteries, SOC management requirements, weight and center of gravity tolerances, housing version, coolant status, connector protection, surface cleanliness and handling environment.
Product engineering, process, and equipment teams should work together to identify permitted contact areas, primary load-bearing points, anchor points, no-pressure areas, sealing surfaces, cooling plates, exhaust or pressure relief areas, and high and low pressure interfaces. The bearing point of the clamp cannot be guessed based on its appearance.
02Identify five major categories of risks
- Drops and slips:Insufficient clamping, recognition errors, loss of energy or operating shocks lead to workpiece instability.
- Structural damage:Contact with the weak area of the shell, excessive local pressure, or change of stress path when overturning.
- Electrical and interface damage:Collision with high-voltage connectors, wire harnesses, sampling interfaces or insulating parts.
- Thermal and abnormal conditions:The workpiece has abnormal temperature, appearance damage, leakage, or other conditions that are not suitable for continued handling.
- Personnel and equipment interference:Large-sized workpieces block the view and enter the vehicle body, tooling and personnel areas when flipped or assembled.
03The fixture plan should have a clear main load-bearing path
Lifting, mechanical clamping, internal bracing, hanging point connection or combination solutions can be used according to the product structure. No matter which form is used, three questions must be answered: where is the main load-bearing part; how does the clamp prevent lateral slip and rotation; and whether the workpiece will immediately lose support after a certain cylinder, suction cup or sensor fails.
For mechanical clamping, the clamping force, friction changes, local stress and structural deformation need to be verified; for lifting, it is necessary to prevent the workpiece from sliding out during acceleration, deceleration and overturning; for vacuum, it is only used when the surface and product requirements permit, and the sealing, vacuum gripping area, vacuum maintenance and surface protection must be checked. High-value battery workpieces should not rely on a single, unmonitorable friction state as the only safety basis.
04Continuously manage center of gravity and orientation during tilting
The turning axis should be as close as possible to the center of gravity of the combination to reduce the force and braking burden required by the operator. It is necessary to calculate and test the force of the battery pack at the starting, middle and end angles, check the clamping, rotating mechanism, braking and locking capabilities, and check the full angle envelope of hoses, cables and the outer edge of the workpiece.
If flipped for gluing, inspection, or assembly, the final attitude should have a mechanical or verifiable reference for positioning. Relying only on the operator's visual angle measurement can easily lead to collision when the tooling approaches.
05Positioning and assembly should be distinguished between rough positioning and fine positioning
Pneumatic Industrial Manipulator are suitable for bearing weight and helping operators guide in a wide range. The final precise positioning is usually completed by tooling guides, positioning pins, floating mechanisms or special centering structures. The clamp should allow the operator to see key gaps to avoid having to rely on thrust to determine whether the battery pack is in place after it is blocked.
When approaching car bodies or pallet tooling, the inertia of motion should be reduced, unnecessary degrees of freedom limited, and the protection of connectors, cooling interfaces, studs, and sealing surfaces checked. Do not use a manipulator to force the workpiece into position if it is not in the right position.
06Clamping, lifting and releasing status approved
| Action | Suggested confirmation status | Typical prohibition conditions |
|---|---|---|
| clamping/vacuum gripping | The vehicle model matches the fixture, the contact position is correct, and the workpiece is allowed to be transported | Identify discrepancies, excessive position deviation, and abnormal workpieces |
| lifting | Locked in place, pressure/vacuum normal, key supports effective | Any key status is missing or contradictory |
| flip | The load has left the material rack, the orientation mechanism is locked, and the path is cleared. | Still in contact with the tooling, the envelope area has not been released |
| Release | The target tooling is in place, the workpiece is supported, and the load is transferred | The load is suspended, the placement evidence is insufficient, and the signal is abnormal. |
The key to state licensing is that the evidence supports each other. For example, merely detecting the height of the fixture cannot prove that the workpiece is in place; merely detecting that the tooling is in place cannot prove that the load has been transferred. Location, contact, load, pressure, vacuum or other testing should be selected in conjunction with project risks.
07Handling of abnormal workpieces and abnormal energy
Battery workpieces that have appearance damage, deformation, leakage, abnormal temperature, or failed identification should have isolation and reporting procedures, and should not continue to be transported at the normal pace. The equipment needs to clearly define the maintenance, stop, alarm and controlled positioning methods when there is air outage, power outage, insufficient vacuum, sensor conflicts and communication interruption.
It should not automatically continue the original action after restoring energy. Confirm the workpiece location, fixture status and personnel area before following controlled steps to recover or move the workpiece to a safe support location.
08Verification should cover normal and most adverse operating conditions
- The heaviest, largest, most unfavorable center of gravity and surface tolerance workpieces.
- Complete gripping, lifting, translation, flipping, positioning and release cycle.
- The fixture module is changed, wrong model and the interface is not fully locked.
- Air pressure drop, loss of compressed air, power outage, vacuum leakage and sensor abnormality.
- Continuous cycle under rated production cycle and durability of key parts.
- Manual rescue, support, unloading and recovery steps after an abnormality.
09Standards and Project Boundaries
GB 38031—2025, Safety Requirements for Power Batteries for Electric Vehicles, took effect on 7/1/2026; AQ 7017—2025, Safety Specification for Lithium-Ion Battery Production, is a current industry standard. These standards show that traction-battery products and production safety require systematic management, but they do not replace the structural design and risk validation required for a specific handling tool. Project requirements must still be defined from the equipment classification, factory rules, and all other applicable standards.
The core of safe handling of battery modules and battery packs is to make product boundaries, main load-bearing paths, action permissions, and abnormal responses explainable, detectable, and verifiable. Only when these conditions are implemented in specific models and work stations can the safety plan be truly established.