Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : VALENCE TECHNOLOGY (VLNC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sig who wrote (2374)	3/7/1998 4:43:00 PM
From: Tickertype	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 27311

Sig, some more thoughts on the film process. Although I have no familiarity with the Valence process, I can add a few general observations. Most polymers (plastics) are made from plastic pellets that resemble grains of rice. These go into machines that heat them to the melting point, after which the material is injected into a mold, or something that produces the final shape. The polyethylene bags we see in grocery stores are made by injecting the molten material between two rotating drums, one inside the other, the gap determining the thickness of the sheet. It is drawn up vertically from between the drums like an endless sleeve, and the perforations are added prior to it being rolled onto a spool. If Valence indeed makes their own film, the process will be similar to this. In order for the film to be soft and pliable, "plasticizers" (typically light mineral oils) are blended into the material as it goes through the process. (We've all seen vinyls become brittle and shrink as the plasticizers leach out with time, as they are not chemically bonded with the polymer) Valence uses plasticizers in order to later extract them, leaving pores for the electrolyte to enter into (see description in the annual report). My guess is that some sort of heat process may be employed for the extraction, and a "coating" process for the insertion. And it is no doubt critical that moisture be kept out by accomplishing all this in a dry atmosphere, as mentioned by Tmoore, so the entire process is very critical. I believe L.D's reference to the "50 gallon batch" was an over simplified, somewhat tongue-in-cheek comment, the real message being that the new machinery will handle much larger volumes which brings on a greater number of control issues, but it is all done in an automated fashion, as described by FMK. Nobody is standing there stirring a witch's brew with a large paddle! Also, Tmoore: Having submitted a number of electronic products to UL for listing over the years, my experience was that it took at least 6 months in most cases. It all depends on the complexity of the product and the number of tests involved. I would think a battery could be done in a shorter time. However, you have to get in the que, and are also subject to how many others are in line ahead of you. Finally, I don't believe there is anything really magical about the whole process of making these batteries - Valence and others have made good units manually for some time now. ULBI are even selling theirs. If it can be done manually it can be done automatically. It's a matter of controlling all the steps adequately while running at high speed. The question is: how fast can they run the system and still maintain acceptable yields. Let's hope it's pretty fast, so the $$$$ come rolling in! Thanks and regards, - T -