Epec's Blog | Electronics Manufacturing Solutions

Printed circuit board assemblies used inside battery packs operate in a uniquely demanding environment. They are often enclosed, exposed to temperature swings, subjected to charge and discharge cycles, and expected to perform reliably for years without service.

Medical devices using portable battery packs require special design considerations to ensure optimal power for these devices while upholding the highest levels of safety. The medical devices can use lithium-ion, lithium metal, lead acid, NiMH, silver-oxide, and alkaline battery cells based on power requirements and usage. The battery packs cannot malfunction when in use, during sterilization, or when placed into storage.

Controlling thermal management requires the use of external and internal devices to ensure that the battery operates at the optimal level in the specific environment when there are fluctuating temperatures.

Battery pack designs take into consideration the type of environment for the application. Harsh conditions such as extreme temperatures, vibrations, shocks, moisture, dust, and humidity may degrade battery cells.

Every device requires unique power and energy needs, whether it requires a strong jolt of power when starting up or a steady amount of energy for long periods of work activity. Yet factors such as aging, degradation, extreme temperatures, and severe discharging events can impact the available capacity of a battery cell.

Lithium-based battery packs require battery management systems (BMS) to monitor important functions. These functions include the temperature, voltage, current, charging/discharging rates, capacity, and the overall health of the batteries. If an issue arises, such as high temperatures or overcharging, the BMS collects the data and sends it to the device's control system.

When developing a battery pack, two major subsystems must work together efficiently: the battery management system and the stack of cells. Most of the development time is spent determining what type of protection and electrical requirements will be required for the battery pack.

Newer technological devices require battery cells to provide higher levels of power while being lightweight and small. When seeking higher levels of energy and power in battery packs, these circumstances create an environment that leads to potentially unstable battery chemistries, elevated temperatures, short circuits, cell swelling, loss of capacity, and overcharging/over-discharging.

At the conclusion of our webinar, Custom Battery Pack Design Considerations for Performance and Safety, we had several questions submitted to our presenter, Battery Product Manager Anton Beck. We compiled these into a readable format on our blog.

Wearable devices such as smartwatches, wearable cameras, ECG monitors, and fitness trackers rely on custom batteries to provide power for operation. Designing wearable technologies creates significant challenges due to the size and flexibility of the devices. Wearable tech requires battery packs to be light enough for use while providing long-lasting energy.