MEA - Assembly

The manufacture of the Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) is a highly complex sequence of individual process steps. Due to the high quality requirements within the finished fuel cell, exact component positioning and the bonding processes of the individual layers are of particular importance in MEA production. Any misalignment during MEA production has a direct impact on the tolerance chain. Various adhesives can be used to bond the individual components of the MEA together. We recommend UV-curing adhesives, which precisely influence the curing of the adhesive and allow the lamination process to be completed in 1-2s, unlike thermally curing adhesives.

In order to meet the complexity requirements of our customers, our systems offer a high degree of flexibility in terms of different designs and cycle times.

Once the production processes are established, component development is sufficiently stable and expected sales are known, roll-to-roll processes can show their full strength.

thyssenkrupp Automation Engineering has developed a high-speed roll-to-roll process for these high-volume requirements that combines all individual components into a finished MEA. The individual components are unrolled and, depending on the shape, punched or cut out, then laminated and checked for quality. With a cycle time of approx. 1s, an output of 15 million MEAs per year is possible.

As an introduction to MEA production, our customers often choose manual assembly. If the required output increases to medium quantities, we offer our customers pick-and-place solutions. Here, the individual processing operations are largely decoupled from each other and the components are transported from one processing station to the next using gantry systems. This structure allows a very high degree of flexibility in the component variance that can be produced. In the research and (further) development phase in particular, such a system is often chosen in order to be able to respond to short-term changes in product design or component geometries without long changeover times. With our pick-and-place solutions, cycle times of 10-30 seconds on average can be achieved, corresponding to an output of up to two million MEAs per year.

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MEA - Assembly

MEA - Assembly

Roll-to-roll process for large series

Small series production