Which is the better primary control specification for pasting lines – thickness or weight?
We have this discussion a lot at our office. So often, in fact, that I decided to write an eBook about it.
And I know it’s a hot-button issue in the lead-acid industry because I've been to conferences where this topic alone took up half of the discussion time.
Of course, as the CEO of a company that specializes in automatic thickness control, I have an opinion on this matter. And it might surprise you. But I'll get to that later. First, I want to talk about the typical setup.
If you’re involved in battery plate manufacturing, chances are you're using weight as your primary control parameter (for most of your lines, at least). There are a lot of good reasons for this:
Weight is easy to measure – just drop a plate on a scale and voilà, you get a reading
You don’t need much equipment
Manual thickness measurements are messy and unreliable (ever get wet paste all over your callipers? Not fun.)
In my view, weight is a better control parameter than thickness. But ONLY if we're talking about manual control.
When you introduce non-contact automatic control, it's a whole new ballgame.
In that case, thickness is a better control spec than weight. Why? Because you can consistently produce higher-quality batteries by using thickness as your primary control spec. All while reducing scrap.
I tackle this issue in-depth in my new eBook: Is it Time to Switch Your Primary Control Parameter?
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