The precision challenge at the heart of every battery cell
Every lithium-ion battery cell begins as a coated electrode. A thin metallic foil — copper for the anode, aluminum for the cathode — passes through a slot die that deposits active material slurry. That coating must be uniform in weight, thickness, and composition across the full web width, on both sides, at production speeds.
The margins are unforgiving. A coat weight variation of just a few percent can reduce cell capacity, shorten cycle life, or create safety risks. The substrates are fragile — copper foil under 10 microns and aluminum under 20 microns. For cathode electrodes, the slurry solvent is typically NMP, demanding hazardous-environment engineering throughout.
IMC has been engineering solutions since the late 1980s, collaborating with early lithium battery pioneers. That work built on four decades of precision web handling dating to 1948.
Web handling
Closed-loop tension control with precision dancers and tension transducers at every driven section. Independent tension zones prevent disturbances from propagating, and precision taper-tension winding protects the coated roll. Web guidance with sub-millimeter lateral accuracy maintains web position and edge tolerancing through the coating process.
Slot die coating for electrodes
Precision-lapped slot dies held to exacting flatness tolerances, mounted on servo-positioned carriages. Backing rolls ground to matching tolerances. Coriolis-based closed-loop flow control.
Slot die is the dominant method for electrode slurry, but it is not the only one IMC builds. Comma and gravure coating stations handle primer layers, thin functional coats, and formulations better suited to open-pool metering; IMC selects the coating method to suit each layer.
Sequential dual-side coating
Two independent stations, each with its own dryer. No wet-on-wet contact. Independent optimization per side. Complete tension isolation between passes.
Drying
Multi-zone convection with impingement nozzles drying from both the top and bottom of the web — faster, more uniform solvent removal than single-sided drying. HEPA-filtered supply, VFD fans, embedded pyrometers measuring material temperature. NMP-rated throughout.
NMP solvent management
Designed from the ground up: explosion-proof motors, spark-resistant fans, LEL monitoring, sealed wiring, purge air systems. Systems configurable for aqueous, NMP, or both.
24/7 production
Designed for continuous operation. Every idler balanced and surface-finished. Frames rigid and vibration-damped. All surfaces corrosion-resistant.