Issue of UL 1642 new revised version – Heavy impact replacement test for pouch cell,
UL 1642,

▍What is PSE Certification?

PSE (Product Safety of Electrical Appliance & Material) is a mandatory certification system in Japan. It is also called ‘Compliance Inspection’ which it is a mandatory market access system for electrical appliance. PSE certification is composed of two parts: EMC and product safety and it is also an important regulation of Japan safety law for electrical appliance.

▍Certification Standard for lithium batteries

Interpretation for METI Ordinance for Technical Requirements(H25.07.01)， Appendix 9，Lithium ion secondary batteries

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● Qualified facilities: MCM is equipped with qualified facilities which can be up to the whole PSE testing standards and conduct tests including forced internal short circuit etc. It enables us to provide different customized testing reports in the format of JET, TUVRH, and MCM etc.

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A new version of UL 1642 was released. An alternative to heavy impact tests is added for pouch cells. The specific requirements are: For pouch cell with capacity that are greater than 300 mAh, if pass the heavy impact test were not passed, they can be subjected to Section 14A round rod extrusion test.Pouch cell has no hard case, which often leads to cell rupture, tap fracture, debris flying out and other serious damage caused by failure in heavy impact test, and makes it impossible to detect the internal short circuit caused by the design defect or process defect. With round rod crush test, possible defects in the cell can be detected without damaging the cell structure. The revision was made with this situation in consideration.The sample is fully charged as recommended by the manufacturerPlace a sample on a flat surface. Put a round steel rod with a diameter of 25±1mm on the top of the sample. The edge of the rod should be aligned with the top edge of the cell, with the vertical axis perpendicular to the tab (FIG. 1). The length of the rod should be at least 5mm wider than each edge of the testing sample. For cells with positive and negative tabs on opposite sides, each side of the tab needs to be tested. Each side of tab should be tested on different samples.Measurement of thickness (tolerance ±0.1mm) for cells shall be performed prior to testing in accordance with Appendix A of IEC 61960-3 (Secondary cells and batteries containing alkaline or other non-acidic electrolytes – Portable secondary lithium cells and batteries – Part 3: Prismatic and cylindrical lithium secondary cells and batteries)Then squeeze pressure is applied on the round rod and the displacement in the vertical direction is recorded (FIG. 2). The moving speed of the pressing plate shall not be greater than 0.1mm /s. When the deformation of the cell reaches 13±1% of the thickness of the cell, or the pressure reaches the force shown in Table 1 (different cell thicknesses correspond to different force values), stop the plate displacement and hold it for 30s. The test ends.