Case Summary

The innovative epoch of the modern consumer involves speed, reliability, and relentless advancement. GP Reeves has always been adept at propelling customers further into progress, even amidst the demanding challenges of current times. This skilled proficiency in ruthless innovation has been exemplified by GP Reeves’ ability to assist in the development of electric delivery trucks. By utilizing expertise of complex materials, superior knowledge of the battery industry and its needs, as well as advanced intelligence in precision dispensing, GP Reeves contributed to a system that will drive consumerism and electric delivery vehicles into the future.

Shifting Gears

In recent years, 65% of growth in the consumer products industry has come from the development of e-commerce. Individuals across the nation have been increasingly captivated by the idea of receiving packages at their doorstep rather than endeavoring to find a certain product at a local store. To capitalize on this shopping revolution, companies must adapt their technology to encourage the processes behind e-commerce and all its widespread advantages.

Simultaneously, the globe’s increasing emphasis on clean energy is putting pressure on consumer products manufacturers to produce and distribute their products in an environmentally conscious regard. GP Reeves has helped numerous companies advance their consumer products as well as electrify the way these products arrive at the end user’s destination.

By creating customized systems to provide accurate, reliable, and effective material dispensing, GP Reeves is powering the future of the consumer products industry.

Sustainable Strategies

Companies around the world are seeking ways to make their e-commerce operations more energy efficient. One of the techniques that many organizations are pursuing involves battery-powered delivery trucks.

By electrifying the smaller delivery trucks that deliver products to homes across the nation, companies can make a tremendous impact on their carbon-neutral goals. Major delivery companies like UPS, Amazon, DHL, and FedEx have already officially announced goals to transition their fleets to electrified trucks.

The concept of battery powered vehicles aligns perfectly with the working operations required of delivery trucks, since they run all day for deliveries and then can charge at night after drivers go home. Along with this perk, the shift from vehicles powered by internal-combustion engines to electric batteries comes with a variety of notable advantages.

  • High operational efficiency and performance
  • Decrease vehicle maintenance expenses
  • Fuel costs savings
  • Decreased harmful emissions

Overall, due to the pandemic and an expansion in e-commerce technology, the world has seen a giant surge in the amount of consumer product deliveries; and there lies a fantastic opportunity to make such a revolution a strategic method to enhance environmental sustainability. GP Reeves has elevated this transformation with our advanced dispensing technology and is enthusiastic about the many possibilities electric delivery trucks can continue to provide a cleaner planet.

The Challenge: Precision for Prevention

When developing batteries, it is crucial that internal components remain durable, safe, and effective. Heat can be a problem for the longevity of battery components if it is not properly dissipated. This is because too much heat within the inner cavities of a battery can cause harmful corrosion and the deterioration of the battery’s expected lifetime. GP Reeves had to ensure that gap filling thermal interface materials would be properly distributed to ensure great thermal dissipation from heated modules to the cooling circuit components of the battery pack.

Additionally, GP Reeves had to distribute material to serve as a bonding and sealing component to prevent any foreign contaminants or external conditions from impacting the effectiveness and health of the battery’s components. To accomplish this task, the devoted members of the GP Reeves team utilized years of expertise and knowledge of the battery industry to accommodate for a unique application setting and the critical aspects required by a proper material dispense.

The Solution: Battery Manufacturing with Ease

To successfully promote the effectiveness of the delivery truck battery’s thermal management operations, a thermal interface material (TIM) was utilized as a gap filler. TIM adhesive is beneficial to the construction of batteries because it provides high thermal conductivity. TIM creates a reliable gap filling bond between each cell and the battery plate, allowing for effective heat transfer.

The engineers at GP Reeves meticulously configured a system that would be able to handle the unique requirements of TIM material maintenance, while also being able to provide an accurate and repeatable dosage to the application.

GP Reeves provided the following:

  • Air operated heated pump
  • Material pressure regulator
  • Custom dispenser that enabled an effective flow of airless TIM material onto cells and strips

Our top-of-the-line system allowed for:

  • A successful distribution of TIM material to the top of each component
  • Heat transfer from the cell to aluminum components
  • Dissipation of heat from the operations of the inner electric components

To provide the customer with a way to efficiently seal the battery cells to the system frame, the team at GP Reeves brilliantly configured a hot melt system that worked with hot butyl material at temperatures of 345 °F or higher. It comprised of a heated gear pump, a special heated hose, and a zero cavity dispense valve. By intentionally dispensing material to seal the cells to the battery frame, GP Reeves machinery was able to prevent moisture, heat, and foreign contaminants to impact the battery’s internal components. The distribution of hot butyl allowed for a strong structural bond and good thermal conductivity.

Final Result: Powering Electric Delivery Trucks Forward

Because TIM was properly applied to the components of the delivery truck batteries, effective propagation of the system’s inner heat was able to take place. This led to proper thermal management, faster charging, and an increased power density for the battery system overall. The battery developers no longer had to worry about potential corrosion due to constant thermal cycling, since GP Reeves provided a dispensing solution to distribute TIM material as accurately as possible.

The customer was also impressed by how simple their battery sealing process had become after the integration of GP Reeves systems into their assembly line. Because our experts were able to engineer a dispensing solution with intense precision and material control, the customer was provided with beneficial accuracy, improved product quality, and elevated assembly efficiency.

Through our ability to configure advanced equipment to meet the needs of a wide array of materials, GP Reeves was able to successfully propel the development of electric delivery trucks forward.

Charging Ahead

We have worked to develop successful solutions for a variety of battery related projects. With our advanced dispensing machinery and our diverse background in a variety of applications, our team is prepared to create an effective system for the most unique of projects. Get in touch with us today to see the many ways a production dispensing system from GP Reeves can benefit you – and who knows, maybe it’ll swiftly arrive on an innovative electric delivery truck.

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