BPG Associates

Battery Pack Prototyping

3D Printed PLA Frames/ Front Panels - Aluminum Housing

During my time at BPG Associates, we were contacted by a few clients to design and build a battery pack using pouch cell batteries. The batteries are connected in series, parallel or both and depending on the number of cells and the final desired result, the overall design may change. The design was all created in a modeling program called OnShape.

The battery packs were mainly used for testing purposes whether it be stress tests, puncture tests or simple charging and discharging.

The main components of the battery pack are:

• A top/bottom aluminum sheet along with a bent aluminum strip to contain the sides.

• Inside the aluminum housing are 3D printed PLA frames, one frame separating each pouch with a center cutout for the shape of the pouch itself.

• Once the frames and pouches are stacked, the aluminum pieces are added, nuts and bolts are added to the corners to complete the overall container.

• A front panel is then placed to keep the pouch tabs separated and a second panel is added to properly secure each pair of tabs in order to complete a proper circuit in the pack.

• Once the front panels are secure with their own respective hardware, the pack is complete.