EQUIPMENT :: CONTINUOUS CASTING OF LEAD BATTERY GRID

The grid for lead–acid batteries is produced under conditions of continuous feeding of melt (Fig. 1) out of furnace 1 by centrifugal pump 2 through tubing 7 in the mould. The latter consists of forming wheel 4 and feed shoe 3. Through a front slot in a wall of the feed shoe contacting with the forming wheel the melt fills in a relief of grids 9 on the forming wheel, the melt excess coming back in oven 1 through tubing 8. In the shoe, on a side contacting the drum, longitudinal slot is made and connected to pipe lines for feeding and draining melt through holes in the shoe’s wall. The formed grid belt wraps around in a roll.

This technology has a number of advantages as compared to permanent mold casting: there are no particulate pollutants of lead, because liquid melt does not contact with air; the grid has increased corrosion resistance and mechanical strength, which is caused by high crystallization speed of a casting (cooling speed in uncoloured slots of cast iron crystallizer is 100 times higher, than in permanent mold, painted by suberic emulsion); Casting speed of prismatic grid is 8-10 times higher than at permanent mold casting and reaches 18000 items per hour; High casting accuracy allows 2-2.5% decreasing of expences of metal; allows creating cheap environmentally friendly technology of electrode production; grid length is almost unlimited. The latter is essential for production of so called cylinder batteries with "spiral" technology. These batteries (see figure) are produced by "OPTIMA" company in Sweden and USA. These batteries have serious advantages as compared to batteries, which have prismatic electrodes:

1. starting current 850 A, which allows fast engine start, including diesel at any temperature.
2. work life at strongest vibrations is 3.5 times longer.
3. Very fast charge with high current.
4. High reliability of exploitation.