Research & Development
| Research & Development |
 |
As befits the market leader, Exide keeps India & World abreast of the developments in battery technology. It’s sophisticated R&D Centre in Kolkata employs the best scientists and technologists and equips them with the tools of fundamental and applications research.
The center spearheads technology transfer, matched production engineering and complete system design. Apart from developmental research, it acts as a funnel for absorbing technology and adopting it to suit operating conditions in respective markets. Ultimately, the effort translates into complete satisfaction of customers’ needs.
|
|
|
Exide recognizes the importance of technology & innovations. In order to maintain technological leadership, Exide R&D have been actively developing differentiated battery technologies for tropical countries. The Exide R&D has been recognized by the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research, Ministry of Science & Technology, Government of India since April 1977.
R&D work is carried out on various facets of lead-acid battery technology, which include development of new products for applications such as Automotive, Motorcycle, VRLA, Telecom, UPS, Railways, Defense, etc. primarily to make the product range internationally competitive. In addition, the R&D is engaged in projects embracing process technology aimed at - |
| improving the product quality & consistency, production efficiency and material utilization. Furthermore, R&D program includes improvement and indigenisation of materials such as metals, alloys, plastics, etc. R&D emphasis is on studying and improving the environmental aspects associate with the manufacturing process. |
| Infrastructure / Laboratories |
| Exide R&D Centre is also well equipped with a Tool-Room, CAD facilities, material testing and laboratories having the modern equipment for testing of the raw materials and components used for manufacture of batteries. These include optical emission Spectrometer, Particle Size Analyzer, Porosemeter, Image Analyzer Workstation, Profile Projector, Universal Tensile testing machine, etc. etc. |
| Functional Areas: |
All the above specific areas are well administered by a strong group of human assets. The qualified R&D personnel are Ph.D.'s in Engineering / Applied Science, Post-Graduate / Graduate in Engineering / Science, MBA's and Diploma in Engineering with broad spectrum of experience and they work in the following functional areas:
 |
Battery Design & Development |
|
Process Development |
|
Tool Design & Development |
|
Alloy Development |
|
Development of Plastic Components |
|
Hard Rubber / Soft Rubber Components Development |
|
Analytical Services |
|
Battery Testing & Quality Assurance |
|
Environmental Health Monitoring |
| Established On : |
27-01-1976 |
| |
|
Manned By
|
|
Doctorates (PhD)
|
7 |
|
|
M.E. / M.Tech |
2 |
|
|
M.Sc |
4 |
|
|
MBA |
1 |
|
|
B.E / B. Tech |
16 |
|
|
B.Sc |
9 |
|
|
Diploma Engineers |
9 |
|
|
Technicians |
4 |
|
Patents:
The continuous research efforts have enabled Exide to patent new processes and grid structures for batteries in India.
| Patents |
Place |
Year |
| Process for fabricating a grid structure for Cadmium Sulphide / Cuprous Sulphide cell. |
India |
1978 |
| Improved Dry Charged process for Drying Formed Negative. |
India |
1978 |
| Process for manufacturing micro-porous polymeric material. |
India |
1979 |
| Micro-porous polymeric material for Miners’ Cap Lamp batteries and Process for preparation thereof. |
India |
1981 |
| Automotive Battery Grid. |
India |
1981 |
| Method of manufacturing lead based alloy. |
India |
1983 |
| Method of making lead acid storage battery grid. |
India |
1986 |
| Method of producing low antimony content tubular grid for positive electrodes of lead acid storage batteries. |
India |
1988 |
| Design patent on 75D31R/95D31 RMF Battery (Jointly with Shinkobe). |
India |
1998 |
| Design Patent on leak resistant Automotive Battery. |
India |
2001 |
In addition to several innovative patents granted in India, quite a few International Patents have already been published with details as under:
| Details |
Published No. |
Published Date |
Place |
Range of Products Covered |
| Automotive Battery Grid |
--- |
1982 |
UK |
--- |
| Design Patent jointly with Shin-Kobe |
1053740 |
10 November1999 |
Japan |
75D31R MF95D31RMF |
| Design Patent |
Design Regn. No. 1163467 |
20 January 2003 |
Japan |
Leak Resistant Design 38B20L/R MF |
| Patent for leak resistant automotive batteries |
US2003/0017381 A1 |
23 January 2003 |
USA |
Eternity Range (ET40, ET40L) ATB Range(MF70Z, MF50Z, DIN55MF) DIN-MF Range(DIN66MF, DIN74MF) CV Range (MHD600, MHD800) |
| P2003-45398A |
14 February 2003 |
Japan |
| EP1 280 214 A2 |
29 January 2003 |
Europe |
| Patent for leak retardant automotive batteries |
US2003/0013006 A1 |
16 January 2003 |
USA |
ATB Range(MFS40, MF40SV, DIN44MF, 55B24LMF) MF Range for Premium Cars (55D23LMF, 70D23LMF, 75D23LMF) |
| P2003-31191A |
31 January 2003 |
Japan |
| EP1 278 254 A1 |
22 January 2003 |
Europe |
Product Testing Facilities:
Product Testing Department acts as the nodal point for product validation through intra R&D linkage with
|
Automotive Design Department for Automotive, Motorcycle & EV batteries |
|
Industrial Design Department for VRLA, Plante (Flooded), Tubular (Flooded), Submarine, Solar, Minars' Cap Lamp, etc. |
|
Process Development Department for change or improvement in manufacturing processes |
|
MRR for ISO and QS Quality Standards |
Product Testing Department also interacts with all the manufacturing units i.e. Shamnagar, Chinchwad, Haldia, Hosur, Taloja, Ahmednagar & Guindy for testing and quality assurance of their products from time to time and as per QS Standards.In order to achieve Business Generation through Type Approval Tests of newly developed products, Product Testing Department keeps liaison with Industrial & Automotive Marketing Department and carry out Type Approval Tests which is usually witnessed by the customer / ultimate user at R&D Test House.
R&D Test House is equipped with state-of-the art test facilities which are mainly;
|
Microprocessor based computer controlled charge - discharge test system |
|
Environmental test machines e.g. Vibration, Controlled Temperature & Humidity Chambers, etc. |
|
High Current Discharge Circuits for Automotive & Industrial |
|
Some special testing machines e.g. High Voltage Tester, Spark Tester, Short Circuit Tester, etc. |
Technology for Tropical Countries
In tropical countries like India, automotive battery life is adversely affected by the following conditions:
|
High ambient temperature |
|
High Vehicle Vibration due to rough roads |
|
Outdated charging system particularly on old vehicles |
|
Sluggish vehicle movement in congested city drives |
|
Frequent start - stop |
|
Weak infrastructure for maintenance |
|
Inferior quality of water for topping up. |
Exide R&D Centre, therefore, has a special focus on developing the desired automotive battery characteristics for India / Tropical conditions which include the following:
|
High temperature endurance |
|
Recovery from deep discharge |
|
Resistance to vibration & bumps |
|
High reserve capacity |
|
Good cranking ability at low as well as normal temperature |
|
Heavy load endurance |
|
Resistance to overcharge |
|
Low water loss |
|
Low self discharge |
|
Spill proof / Leak resistant |
|
State-of-charge indication |
|
Spark resistant |
Major Developmental Work:
Some of the major development work done at the R&D Centre and viewed at a glance is as follows:
|
Automotive & Tractor batteries as per Indian Standards to suit tropical conditions. |
|
Japanese range of Automotive and Motorcycle Batteries. |
|
DIN range of Automotive batteries suited to vehicles of European origin |
|
Development of Submarine Batteries. |
|
Development of special type of poly-ethylene separators for varying applications. |
|
Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) batteries for Telecommunication & Railway applications. |
|
Motive Power Batteries for Fork-lift Trucks & Golf Carts. |
|
High energy density battery for Electric Vehicles. |
|
Plante batteries for Power stations. |
|
Furthermore, long-life, maintenance-free batteries for cars have also been developed which are presently being marketed under the brand name Exide Eternity. |
|
Also a new heavy duty, MHD Range of batteries have been developed and introduced for the entire commercial range of vehicles. Batteries were also developed for CNG/LPG powered three-wheelers and golf carts. |
|
A range of batteries for Industrial application including new batteries for Telecom, Solar, Traction and small VRLA for UPS system was also developed. |
Major Research Projects:
|
Development of lead based alloy for battery grids. |
|
Development of a variety of maintenance free batteries for Automotive and Motorcycle applications. |
|
Development of re-combination type maintenance free batteries (VRLA). |
|
Development of ultra-low maintenance batteries / cells for Solar applications. |
|
Development of special batteries for electric vehicle applications. |
|
|
