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Why On-Site Commissioning Decides Whether a Line Works
A machine leaving the factory has been tested against a known material, in a known ambient condition, by people who built it. On the customer’s site almost none of that holds: the raw materials are different, humidity and temperature are different, the power supply and compressed air specification follow local standards, and the operators have never seen the machine before.
This is where most laboratory and pilot line projects actually succeed or stall. The equipment may be mechanically perfect while the first electrode still comes out unusable — because the slurry formulation was never adjusted for the local binder, or because nobody explained how coating thickness relates to areal density and coat weight. Fixing that requires someone on site who understands both the machine and the process behind it.
That is the role: get the equipment installed and commissioned, then stay long enough to prove the process runs and the customer’s own team can keep it running.
Overseas Project Record — six countries since 2019
Each entry below is a project he was despatched to and completed on site. Scope covers installation and assembly interfacing, electrical and pipework connection, whole-machine commissioning, process parameter validation, trial-run verification, acceptance handover and operator training.
- ▸Commissioned the pilot line, then ran on-site validation of the dry powder electrode route together with the customer, following the TOB process
- ▸Validated dry powder milling, film forming and lamination — the three stages that decide whether a dry electrode is usable
- ▸Carried the project through to finished cell fabrication and battery production, with validation completed successfully
- ▸Established the laboratory project on site: equipment installation, commissioning and hands-on guidance for the customer’s team
- ▸Same 60138 supercapacitor format as the Canadian project, at laboratory rather than pilot scale
- ▸On-site technical communication and exchange for a 32140 sodium-ion cell production line project
- ▸Sodium-ion is a distinct chemistry from lithium-ion — different material handling and process windows
- ▸Established the pilot line, then worked alongside the customer on the slot-die extrusion coater to raise their coating technique and coating performance
- ▸Project completed through to finished cell fabrication
- ▸Installed and commissioned the prismatic aluminium-shell laboratory project, with on-site instruction on operating the equipment
- ▸Diagnosed problems in the customer’s existing slurry preparation process, explained what was going wrong and proposed specific improvements
- ▸Established the assembly-section equipment for a prismatic aluminium-shell line, covering installation and commissioning
- ▸Installed and commissioned polymer and cylindrical cell projects on site
- ▸Worked with the customer to improve the mixing process formulation and ratio
- ▸Taught the customer how to calculate and adjust coating thickness from areal density and coat weight — the calculation that turns a target specification into a machine setting
What On-Site Delivery Covers
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1 Mechanical installation and assembly interfacing
Positioning and installing equipment on the customer’s floor, then interfacing adjoining machines so the sections align as one line.
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2 Electrical and pipework connection
Power, control wiring, compressed air and fluid lines — adapted to the site standards of each country rather than assuming Chinese specifications.
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3 Whole-machine commissioning
Bringing each machine into operation and confirming the line runs as an integrated system, not as isolated units.
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4 Process parameter validation
Confirming the process actually produces acceptable output on the customer’s materials, adjusting parameters where local materials behave differently.
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5 Fault diagnosis — hardware, software and process
Rapidly locating and resolving on-site faults, whether the cause sits in the machine, the control software or the process itself.
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6 Trial run and acceptance handover
Completing trial-run verification, then project acceptance and formal delivery.
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7 Customer technician training
Training the customer’s own technical staff on equipment operation and routine maintenance, so the line keeps running after handover.
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8 Multi-party coordination to hit project milestones
Adapting to each country’s site regulations and coordinating resources across parties to keep project nodes on schedule.
Equipment and Process Coverage
Cell formats
Polymer pouch, cylindrical, prismatic aluminium-shell, and supercapacitor (60138).
Chemistries
Lithium-ion, sodium-ion (32140 production line), and supercapacitor systems.
Line scale
Laboratory lines and pilot lines, including complete turnkey sets rather than single machines.
Electrode processes
Dry powder electrode — milling, film forming, lamination; wet coating via slot-die extrusion.
Process areas advised on
Slurry preparation and formulation, mixing ratio, coating thickness against areal density and coat weight.
Handover deliverables
Trial-run verification, acceptance documentation, operator and maintenance training.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does TOB NEW ENERGY send engineers to install equipment overseas?
Yes. Kevin Li has been despatched to customer sites in Canada, Spain, Germany, South Korea, Brazil and Kazakhstan since 2019, along with further overseas commissioning assignments. On-site scope covers mechanical installation and assembly interfacing, electrical and pipework connection, whole-machine commissioning, process parameter validation, trial-run verification, acceptance handover, and training of the customer’s technical staff on operation and routine maintenance. Site practices are adapted to each country’s regulations rather than assuming Chinese specifications.
What happens if the equipment runs but the electrode quality is still wrong?
That is treated as part of commissioning, not as a separate service. On the Brazilian prismatic aluminium-shell project the equipment was installed and running, but the customer’s slurry preparation process had problems of its own — these were diagnosed on site, explained, and specific improvements proposed. On a polymer and cylindrical cell project the work included improving the mixing formulation and ratio, and teaching the customer how to calculate and adjust coating thickness from areal density and coat weight. Fault diagnosis covers hardware, control software and process causes.
Has TOB commissioned dry electrode equipment on a customer site?
Yes. On the Canadian 60138 supercapacitor pilot line, Kevin Li ran on-site validation of the dry powder electrode route together with the customer, following the TOB process. The validation covered dry powder milling, film forming and lamination, and the project continued through to finished cell fabrication and battery production with validation completed successfully. Dry electrode processing is also a core TOB patent area — the company holds a four-patent chain covering the complete dry electrode route.
Which cell formats and chemistries has he commissioned?
Four formats — polymer pouch, cylindrical, prismatic aluminium-shell, and supercapacitor (60138) — across lithium-ion, sodium-ion and supercapacitor systems. The sodium-ion work was a 32140 production line project in Germany. Both laboratory lines and pilot lines are covered, supplied as complete turnkey sets rather than single machines.
Will our own technicians be trained to run the line?
Yes — operator training is a standard part of project delivery, not an add-on. After commissioning and trial-run verification, the customer’s technical staff are trained on equipment operation and routine maintenance. On the South Korean pilot line this went further: the work included hands-on collaboration at the slot-die extrusion coater to raise the customer’s own coating technique and coating performance, with the project completed through to finished cell fabrication.
Can he support a project where the equipment was not supplied by TOB?
Process support and diagnosis are transferable, because most on-site failures trace back to materials, formulation or parameter setting rather than to the machine brand. The Brazilian slurry diagnosis and the mixing and coating optimisation on the polymer and cylindrical cell project are both examples of process problems solved on the customer’s existing setup. Mechanical and electrical work on third-party equipment depends on the specific machine and should be discussed case by case.
Who does he work with inside the TOB engineering team?
On-site commissioning is the last stage of a chain that starts much earlier. Process routes and parameter windows come from Technical Director Neil Zhao and the principal engineers; export compliance, logistics and turnkey scheme sit with Amy Wang; equipment specification and factory layout involve founder Dany Huang. Kevin Li is the point where all of that has to work on the customer’s floor — and where problems get fed back to the people who designed the process.
Laboratory line, pilot line or a full turnkey set — tell us the cell format, the site country and your target schedule, and we will scope the on-site commissioning and training with you.
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