See any of these?

Headrc

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Jan 27, 2018
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Has anyone seen any of these ...and if so do you know the specs on them? They came out of some HP laptop batteries that I though I would just find the pouch LIPO batteries in but thought I would investigate. Turned out there were 3 18650's ....and then 6 of these in them. Voltages were all pretty good too. I have tried charging them just like an 18650 with good results. I am coming up with 1200 mAh pretty much on them. Kind of interesting really, the red one looks like a hard case around a small pouch LIPO. The other one looks like a small version of the Boston Power batteries I have seen. I have tried searching numbers imprinted on them but come up with nothing.
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18650 is round cells with 18mm in diameter and 65mm length. The red ones are normal pouch liion.
 
From battery university looks like this is what it is, I was confused because I have seen many on here refer to the pouch cells as prismatic:

Prismatic Cell
Introduced in the early 1990s, the modern prismatic cell satisfies the demand for thinner sizes. Wrapped in elegant packages resembling a box of chewing gum or a small chocolate bar, prismatic cells make optimal use of space by using the layered approach. Other designs are wound and flattened into a pseudo-prismatic jelly roll. These cells are predominantly found in mobile phones, tablets and low-profile laptops ranging from 800mAh to 4,000mAh. No universal format exists and each manufacturer designs its own.

Prismatic cells are also available in large formats. Packaged in welded aluminum housings, the cells deliver capacities of 2050Ah and are primarily used for electric powertrains in hybrid and electric vehicles. Figure 5 shows the prismatic cell.

[img=288x264]http://batteryuniversity.com/_img/content/pack5(1).jpg[/img]
Figure 5: Cross sectionof a prismatic cell.
The prismatic cell improves space utilization and allows flexible design but it can be more expensive to manufacture, less efficient in thermal management and have a shorter cycle life than the cylindrical design. Allow for some swelling.
Source: Polystor Energy Corporation

The prismatic cell requires a firm enclosure to achieve compression. Some swelling due to gas buildup is normal, and growth allowance must be made; a 5mm (0.2) cell can grow to 8mm (0.3) after 500 cycles. Discontinue using the battery if the distortion presses against the battery compartment. Bulging batteries can damage equipment and compromise safety.
 
Well, it not just looks like a LiPo in a hardcase. I got some of these but I've thrown them away as I had no use for a few cells in this format.

A pouch cell and a prismatic cell is usually the same thing. However, the pouch cell has no case and it is just the pouch with very little protective capabilities whereas the prismatic cell usually comes in a very sturdy plastic case.
 
All told I have about 16 of these ....sure I can find a use somewhere, all testing well at this time. :)
 
Unfortunately this is what all consumer laptop batteries are moving to. About half the laptops at my company, maybe more, are moving to this type. They are fine for quality/capacity but because there's no standard form factor or capacity it would be difficult to make anything larger than a power bank with these cells.
 
Just designed a holder for these type of cells: https://secondlifestorage.com/t-Cell-Database-Submissions-and-Updates?pid=26459#pid26459

If it works well, I should be able to modify the design to fit other cells given the exterior dimensions and locations of the +/- terminals.


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Edit: Dovetail features are a bit too tight but the battery is a snug fit and the terminal locations are good:


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I did realize one advantage these large flat cells have; for small relatively high drain applications, their large surface area is very conducive to forced air cooling:


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Yes indeed, still fine tuning the dovetail joints, I'm on my 4th iteration already... tough little buggers, dealing with +/-0.2mm distance changes to get a good fit. The cells I've tested so far seem quite good, around 3200mAH or better. Not really sure what to compare to, but that would be an exceptional cell if it were an 18650, so if I can get these in similar quantities I think I can make a nice pack.
 
Nice ....I wonder what the max C dischargerating is on them. I have not investigated 3d printing as of yet ...how long does it take to print these?
 
Headrc said:
Nice ....I wonder what the max C dischargerating is on them. I have not investigated 3d printing as of yet ...how long does it take to print these?

I'm printing 4 at a time because any more and my prints warp from uneven cooling (printer doesn't have a heated bed). Says it takes a little over an hour to print these at 0.3mm later height. I don't think these cells are high C rating at all, they have a relatively high internal resistance, I was seeing 130mOhms or so. I wouldn't run them more than 0.5C, 1C might be possible but pushing it.
 
The pack is coming together nicely. Have to sorta mash down the snap together holders (I guess I should make them in larger increments like 4s) to get them to fit flush, but it seems on par with the black cell holders for 18650s forstrength. I've got 20 cells which I plan to put together in 10s2p configuration inmy 36V 980W UPS (in parallel with a 4000mAH10s high current LiPo RC pack currently in there).


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You probably should leave the LiPo in there to take most of the load. 2p with these cells and 980W doesn't sound right! :)
 
You are a patient man Rev0 ...4 cell holders in an hour! Again ...good work though. It had to be time consuming to desing these as well.
 
That is a pretty neat way to test those odd shape cells. Pretty simple too.

I love my 3D printer. I am currently finishing up all the conversion parts to make my g0704 mill into a CNC with 3D printed parts.
 
It took me a minute, so that is an adapter, or cell simulator. It fits in a 18650 cell holder, tray, to charge and test. Got ya.
Good Idea.
 
Just published a video of how to extract these cells from HP ZO04XL batteries (just got 4 more yesterday so I've got the hang of it pretty well now). It's still a bit of a pain because of all the adhesive, but the adhesive is perforated so there's no need to apply much force to break the cells free from the plastic:


Just found the same UH6NF6060 cells in a 3-cell HP CI03XL pack also.
 
Finally finished testing enough cells to make a 10s2p pack that's reasonably well balanced (47mAH worst case diff between lowest/highest cell pair). Total capacity is around 250WH. Redesigned the holder to make a 5x cell holder to make it a bit stronger in large packs. So far so good, but I still haven't figured out how I want to do the bus bar setup. I've got the positive most contact on the far right and the negative most on the far left. Will probably involve some paper and hot glue (paper to keep the bus bar from melting its way clear through the PLA holders like what happened on the + contact).


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Nice work ....I think you are on to something here ...there are an abundance of these cells available in my opinion. But not much technical info on them from what I have found ...no database like the one here for the 18650.
 
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