Online magazine for design and development

Here you will find everything that the designer needs for his design and the development engineer for his new development, from the draft to quality assurance in production, such as new products, their applications, new technologies or research results. Company reports as well as topics on technological and megatrends in all industrial sectors complete our range of industry news. Let's start with the news.

Company News

Ebm-Papst wants to sell industrial drive technology to Siemens
The Ebm-Papst Group has announced that it will sell its Industrial Drive Technology (IDT) division to Siemens AG. Both sides have signed a corresponding agreement.
Jumo's new Sensilo plant construction is progressing
Jumo is building a factory in the technology park for the production of temperature and pressure sensors with a production area of ​​around 13 m². At around 000 million euros, the new building is the largest investment in the company's history.
3DExperience Word 2024 in Dallas
At 3DExperience World 2024 in February in Dallas, Texas, Dassault Systèmes celebrated the event's 25th anniversary. The annual user meeting supports the global community in the development of future-proof products and processes.
Michael Koch GmbH moves into a new workshop
There is now more space available in Michael Koch's “Factory” for the assembly of customer- and machine-specific safe braking resistors. The new, modern hall was recently “taken by storm” by the employees.
Elon Musk is suing OpenAI for profit-making
Elon Musk files a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, accusing them of breach of contract because the company, which was originally designed as a nonprofit, is now operating for profit.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Industry news for your design and development from the specialist areas

switch cabinet

switch cabinet

On to the intelligent drive train for predictive maintenance

The Roba-brake-checker module or the torque-measuring shaft coupling from Mayr ensure intelligent safety in smart production.

To the post

plastics

plastics

The first 100 Igus bikes hit the streets

The first 100 Igus Urban Bikes hit the streets and an in-house production facility with a capacity of 10.000 bicycles is set up in Cologne.

To the post

Couplings

Couplings

Torque measuring shaft coupling

The smart steel multi-plate coupling Roba-drive-checker from Mayr can do more than just transmit torque and compensate for shaft misalignment.

To the post

Robotic

Robotic

Programming robots for cable handling

As an exhibitor in the Application Park at the Hannover Messe, Artiminds Robotics is presenting a cable handling application for precise cable harness assembly.

To the post

INDUSTRY SPECIALS

Industry news for your design and development from the branches

food technology

food technology

Lubrication and sealing-optimized linear guide

Schaeffler presents linear guides for food technology with optimized seals, wipers and long-term lubrication units.

To the post

Mobile Machinery

Mobile Machinery

Flexible, customizable gateway for agricultural technology

IFM Electronic is presenting the Isobus Gateway at the Hannover Messe, which is designed for agricultural equipment and can be specifically adapted.

To the post

Energy Technology

Energy Technology

All Electric Society – vision of the future of connectivity

At the Hannover Messe Preview, Harting gives an outlook on the Hannover Messe and draws the future picture of an “All Electric Society”.

To the post

Inverter

Inverter

Certified servo controller with Profisafe interface

At Logimat, Wittenstein is presenting a safety-certified servo controller with a Profisafe interface and integrated safety card for AGVs.

To the post

EXHIBITION SPECIALS

Industry fair news

Hannover Messe promotes energy for sustainable industry
As a networked industrial ecosystem, the exhibitors demonstrate how climate neutrality can be achieved through the use of electrification, digitalization and automation under the guiding theme of Energizing a sustainable Industry.
Control Fair 2024 | The industry is already looking forward to Stuttgart
Control 2024, the important international trade fair for quality assurance, will take place from April 23rd to 26th in Stuttgart. The trade fair places a particular focus on automation and digitalization.
SPS Nuremberg: Now in 16 halls!
The SPS – Smart Production Solutions from November 14th to 16.11th. 2023 will see significant growth in the trade fair compared to the previous year and is on the way to pre-Corona levels.
TUM0117

Batteries, the cathode consists of a mixture of nickel, manganese, cobalt and lithium, are currently considered the most efficient. But they have a limited lifespan. From the first cycle they lose up to 10% of their capacity. Why is that and what can be done against the subsequent gradual loss of capacity, now has explored an interdisciplinary team of scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) using positron accurate.


So-called NMC batteries, whose cathodes consist of a mixture of nickel, manganese, cobalt and lithium, have largely pushed conventional lithium-cobalt oxide batteries off the market. They are cheaper and safer and are therefore used in electric and hybrid cars, among other things. But even with them, only a little more than 50% of the lithium atoms contribute to the actual capacity. While 62% of the lithium atoms could still be detached from the crystal lattice during the first discharge of the electrodes examined at the Technical University of Munich, only 54% return when they are recharged.

In the subsequent cycles, the loss is much lower, but the capacity gradually decreases gradually. After a few thousand cycles, the remaining capacity is so low that the battery becomes unusable.

Captured positrons show holes in the grid

Investigations by other groups showed that not all lithium atoms find their way back into the appropriate gaps in the crystal lattice during charging. However, previous methods could not show the atomic processes responsible for this. As is so often the case, the solution came from interdisciplinary cooperation: Irmgard Buchberger, who works at the Chair of Technical Electrochemistry at the Technical University of Munich, contacted Stefan Seidlmayer, who is also researching battery technologies at the FRM II research neutron source at the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Zentrum (MLZ). .

He arranged contact with Christoph Hugenschmidt, who is in charge of the Nepomuc instrument at the MLZ. It generates positrons, the antiparticles of the electrons, which can be used to specifically search for holes in crystal lattices. “As extremely small and highly mobile particles, positrons can fly through materials. If they hit an electron, they immediately end up in a flash of energy, if they find an empty spot in the crystal lattice, they survive much longer,” explains Markus Reiner, who carried out the experiments on the Nepomuc instrument.

Since the positrons are trapped in the empty lattice sites for a short time before finally blasting, positron annihilation spectroscopy can be used to draw precise conclusions about the local environment - and this with a very high sensitivity, as it is possible to find flaw concentrations of up to to 1: 10 million detect.

Targeted material development

The study clearly shows that "holes" remaining in the grid of the cathode material during recharging are associated with the irreversible loss of capacity and this blockage is due to the insufficient filling of the holes in the cathode material. "Now it's our turn as chemists again," says Prof. Hubert Gasteiger, Chair of Technical Electrochemistry. "By specifically modifying the cathode material, we can now look for ways to circumvent this barrier."

"For the Batteryresearch, the Garching research neutron source is an extremely helpful tool,” says Ralph Gilles, who coordinates the measurements for the 'Exzellum' battery research project at the FRM II. “With neutrons, we can see small atoms like lithium, in particular, well, even through the metal shell while the machine is in operation. With the positrons, we have now opened up another possibility to better understand the processes and thus to be able to further improve them.”

The research was supported by funds of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the framework of the project Exzelltum. The operation of the Coincident Doppler Broadening Spectrometer used for the study will also receive funding from the BMBF.