Carbon Battery Tray HP-CRTM Line in China

Illustration notice. Process illustrations are not verified photographs of this installation.

Project reference basis. Figures and configuration details are reported in the supplied project brief. They are reference values for the stated application, rather than verified acceptance results or a guarantee for another installation. Confirm the source records, material, tooling, operating schedule and test method when assessing a comparable project.

Project configuration and outcomes described in the supplied project brief.

A leading premium electric vehicle manufacturer in Eastern China deployed Haifeng’s high-pressure compression resin transfer molding (HP-CRTM) production line to establish an automated cell for all-carbon composite battery enclosures. The project was commissioned to manufacture one-piece lower battery trays measuring 2,200 mm by 1,600 mm (total surface area 3.52 m²) for a flagship performance SUV platform.

Prior to this installation, the OEM utilized welded extruded aluminum trays. The metal assembly added 68 kg of parasitic deadweight to the chassis, while weld-joint fatigue under road twisting risked moisture intrusion and battery pack short-circuits. Initial trials with standard closed-mold HP-RTM caused extreme fiber displacement (“fiber wash”) as resin was forced across the 2.2-meter planar span, resulting in dry spots and long 6-minute cycle times.

Haifeng engineered a complete high-speed compression liquid molding cell centered on the HF-CRTM300-PRO injection unit integrated with a 3,000-ton fast-acting press. Utilizing micro-gap surface injection (1.2 mm) followed by high-speed through-thickness compaction, the supplied brief reports a 115-second complete cycle and 35% lower tray weight against its aluminum baseline. Side-impact performance is a separate part/assembly validation result.

Concept illustration: Generated concept illustration for process discussion; not a photograph of the specified machine, a customer facility or a delivered project.

Configuration reported in the supplied brief.

Haifeng engineered and commissioned an automated composite press cell synchronized via real-time industrial fieldbus. Near-net-shape continuous carbon fiber preforms (multi-axial NCF plies) are transferred into the heated steel tool mounted inside the 3,000-ton press.

The press closes the tool to a pre-calibrated 1.2 mm micro-gap while the cavity is evacuated down to 0.05 kPa. The HF-CRTM300-PRO injection unit displaces fast-curing structural epoxy resin at 18.0 MPa through the tool-mounted impingement head, delivering 2,650 grams of resin across the top of the preform in 9.5 seconds using the specified micro-gap surface distribution sequence.

Upon shot termination, the press executes high-speed vertical compaction at 250 mm/s, driving the resin through the 3.2 mm laminate thickness across the entire 3.5 m² area. The part crosslinks isothermally in 75 seconds under 130°C tool heating. An automated overhead gantry robot extracts the finished 44.2 kg carbon tray every 115 seconds, with ultrasonic inspection specified separately from quantitative porosity measurement and acceptance.