In high-end manufacturing fields such as perovskite photovoltaics, OLED displays, and lithium batteries, coating is the core process that determines product performance. When a product moves from the laboratory to mass production, the options and selection of coating equipment directly affect the production line yield, production efficiency, and overall cost. This article combines the mainstream technology routes in the industry to sort out the most commonly used types of coating equipment in mass production scenarios, helping manufacturing enterprises make more suitable selection decisions.
1、 The selection logic of mass production coating equipment
The biggest difference between mass production and laboratory sampling lies in "consistency" and "continuity". The mass production line requires uniform coating thickness, stable batches, and reliable continuous operation of equipment, while also considering material utilization and maintenance costs. Therefore, when selecting, the focus is usually on four dimensions: coating uniformity and accuracy, production speed and capacity, material utilization, equipment stability and maintenance convenience. By clarifying these four points and comparing them with the characteristics of various devices, the selection range can be narrowed down.
2、 What are the mainstream mass production coating equipment
1. Slot Die Coating Equipment
The slurry enters the closed mold head under the precise delivery of the pump and is uniformly coated on the moving substrate through a narrow slit. Closed liquid supply isolates environmental interference, with excellent consistency in coating thickness and lateral uniformity, high material utilization, and support for multi-layer co extrusion. It is currently the mainstream solution in mass production lines that balances accuracy and efficiency. High end fields such as lithium battery electrodes, perovskite solar cells, OLED packaging, and quantum dot films are widely used. Taking PowerDe's slit coating equipment as an example, the coating width is 50-350mm, the coating thickness is 5-200 μ m, the vehicle speed is 1-10 meters/minute, and the product qualification rate is ≥ 99.5%, which can meet the requirements of perovskite OLED、 The mass production demand of industries such as lithium batteries, quantum dot LEDs, and OPVs.
2. comma scraper coating machine
By controlling the coating thickness through the gap between the scraper and the substrate, the structure is simple, the cost is low, and the adjustment is flexible, suitable for medium to high viscosity slurries. The disadvantage is open coating, which is easily affected by temperature and humidity, and the production speed is relatively limited. It is more suitable for mass production scenarios where uniformity requirements are not extreme.
3. Micro concave reverse coating machine
By using a micro gravure roller with precision mesh holes to rotate in the opposite direction, a quantitative coating solution is transferred to the substrate, which is skilled in ultra-thin and uniform coating with good surface quality. The limitation is that it is difficult to handle high viscosity slurries, and micro concave rollers are precision consumables that are difficult to replace, making them more suitable for low-speed high-precision production lines.
4. Roller coating machine
By relying on the rotating roller to transfer the coating to the substrate, there are two methods: forward rotation and reverse rotation. Reverse roller coating can handle high viscosity coatings and is suitable for large-scale continuous production. It is commonly used in adhesive, photovoltaic backsheet and other scenarios.
5. gravure coating machine
Mesh rollers store coatings, and after scraping off excess parts with a scraper, they are transferred in reverse to the substrate. They have high precision and are suitable for ultra-thin coatings. They are commonly used in processes such as flexible circuit board covering films and semiconductor packaging.
6. Curtain coating machine
The coating forms a curtain through a narrow slit and falls freely to cover the substrate, with no contact and fast speed. It is suitable for large-area uniform coating and is often used in scenarios such as food packaging barrier layers.
3、 How to choose mass production coating equipment for different industries
The requirements for coating technology vary greatly among different industries. The perovskite photovoltaic production line mainly uses slit coating equipment, often combined with glove box spin coating, roll to roll magnetron sputtering coating and other equipment to form a complete process chain; OLED display manufacturing also extensively uses slit coating, combined with vacuum bonding to complete the module manufacturing process; The coating of lithium battery electrodes is mainly based on slit coating and roll coating; Optical thin films use more micro concave reversal and slit coating to ensure ultra-thin and uniform film layers. Overall, industries with higher requirements for film uniformity and consistency tend to choose slit coating equipment.
4、 How to choose a manufacturer for mass production coating equipment
When choosing a coating equipment manufacturer, it is recommended to focus on four aspects: first, industry experience, whether there are delivery cases of similar production lines; Secondly, can verifiable technical parameters be provided for equipment accuracy and yield data; The third is the overall supporting capability of the line, whether it can coordinate with the front and rear equipment; The fourth is customization and after-sales service. Long term operation of mass-produced equipment and timely technical support are equally crucial.
Taking Shenzhen PowerDe Automation Precision Equipment Co., Ltd. (PowerDe) as an example, the company was established in 2007 and has been rated as a national high-tech enterprise for four consecutive years. It has nearly 100 patents and has been deeply involved in the fields of semiconductor vacuum bonding, perovskite photovoltaics, and clean technology for many years. It can provide integrated equipment and process development services from single machine to whole line.
Conclusion
What are the coating equipment used for mass production? The answer depends on the product process and production capacity. For production lines that pursue high consistency and large-scale continuous production, slit coating equipment is the mainstream choice; For multi variety and small batch production, scraper type equipment is more flexible. It is recommended that manufacturing companies communicate deeply with experienced coating equipment manufacturers based on their own processes and production capacity requirements. If necessary, process validation should be conducted first before determining the final solution.
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