Lingchen Industrial PCs Empower Lithium Battery Appearance Inspection
Driven by the rapid advancement of new energy vehicles, smartphones, and energy storage systems, the demand for lithium-ion batteries continues to soar. The global market for battery cell surface inspection is estimated at approximately $490 million in 2025 and is projected to reach $636 million by 2031, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7%. Lithium-ion battery visual inspection has evolved beyond simple defect detection to encompass a comprehensive scope of processes, including internal structural analysis, cell consistency testing, and dynamic quality monitoring. Visual inspection is an indispensable component across every stage of the manufacturing workflow—from raw material processing and cell fabrication to battery pack assembly, testing, and packaging. High-end machine vision systems have now achieved sub-micron-level dimensional measurement capabilities and a defect detection rate of 99.99%; this places exceptionally high demands on the computing power and stability of their core controllers—industrial PCs. Leveraging its portfolio of high-performance industrial PCs, Lingchen Technology provides the essential computing power and collaborative control support required for lithium-ion battery visual inspection equipment, thereby empowering the industry to achieve sub-micron-level, high-precision inspection.
Lingchen Industrial PC
Within lithium-ion battery visual inspection systems, Lingchen industrial PCs serve as the "brain," primarily undertaking three core tasks:
High-Speed Processing of Inspection Data: Receiving image data in real-time from high-resolution industrial cameras, performing preprocessing—such as filtering, enhancement, and grayscale conversion—and utilizing algorithmic models to extract features and identify defects.
Coordinated Control of Multiple Devices: Synchronizing the timing of various units—including light source strobing, camera triggering, motion platform positioning, and sorting mechanism actuation—to ensure a seamless and cohesive inspection workflow.
Storage and Interaction of Inspection Results: Recording inspection logs, calculating yield rates, and interfacing with MES systems to enable comprehensive quality traceability throughout the entire process.
Taking the detection of micro-cracks on the edges of lithium battery electrode sheets as an example, Lingchen industrial PCs work in conjunction with a vision system to execute the following workflow:
After a high-resolution camera captures images of the electrode sheet edges, the Lingchen industrial PC first performs image denoising and grayscale conversion to enhance the contrast between the micro-cracks and the background. Subsequently, the image is converted into a grayscale matrix, and edge detection algorithms are applied to calculate the area, length, and directional characteristics of regions exhibiting abrupt changes in pixel grayscale values.
For instance, when a continuous region of anomalous grayscale gradients—exceeding 50 micrometers in length but less than 5 micrometers in width—is detected, the system identifies it as a micro-crack defect and classifies its severity into specific grades (e.g., minor or severe). The entire process requires no human intervention; the time from image acquisition to the final judgment is kept to within 200 milliseconds. This fully meets the high-speed cycle time requirements of mass production lines while simultaneously ensuring sub-micron-level detection precision. All detection data is synchronously uploaded to the MES system, enabling comprehensive traceability of defect locations, dimensions, and timestamps throughout the entire production process.
Summarize
Leveraging their robust data processing capabilities, industrial-grade reliability, and flexible peripheral expansion interfaces, Lingchen Technology’s industrial PCs have been successfully deployed across various stages of lithium-ion battery surface inspection equipment. Whether performing sub-micron-level detection of micro-cracks along electrode edges or conducting high-speed dynamic quality monitoring on production lines, Lingchen industrial PCs provide stable and efficient computational and control support. Moving forward, as 5G, edge computing, and artificial intelligence technologies become deeply integrated, Lingchen Technology will continue to optimize the performance of its industrial PC products. By facilitating smarter, more precise, and more efficient upgrades for lithium-ion battery inspection equipment, the company aims to contribute significantly to the high-quality development of the new energy industry.
About Us
Established in 2006, Suzhou Lingchen Data Acquisition & Computer Co., Ltd. operates under a business philosophy centered on creating value for clients and fostering win-win partnerships. The company provides customers with core components and system solutions for a wide range of automation equipment, including industrial computers, motion control systems, test and measurement instruments, machine vision systems, and robotics. Currently, Lingchen oversees two wholly-owned subsidiaries: Suzhou Xun'ya Automation Technology Co., Ltd. and T.O.K. Robotics (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., which specialize in the sales of robotic systems and the R&D, manufacturing, and sales of linear motion products, respectively.
Product System Network
Within the hierarchical structure of automated control networks, Lingchen Technology offers a comprehensive range of products spanning the device, control, and information layers.
01 Industrial Computers
Lingchen Industrial Chassis provides comprehensive physical protection for critical computing cores through its industrial-grade robust structure, exceptional thermal management, and dust-proof design, ensuring enduring and stable operation even in harsh industrial environments characterized by vibration, dust, and extreme temperatures.
02 Embedded Industrial PC
Lingchen Embedded Industrial PCs feature a compact and rugged industrial design, integrating high-performance computing, extensive I/O interfaces, and broad tolerance for wide temperature and voltage ranges. Specifically engineered for embedded applications—such as machine vision, edge computing, and automation equipment—these systems provide a stable and reliable intelligent core within limited spaces, empowering smart manufacturing and IoT applications.
03 Motion Control Card
The Lingchen motion control card is capable of controlling up to 32 motion axes and simultaneously supports the control of up to 512 DI points and 512 DO points, with a maximum bus communication cycle of 250 µs. In terms of motion control, it supports functions such as single-axis relative motion, absolute motion, jogging, and drive-based homing; multi-axis interpolation; multi-axis point table motion; and electronic gearing.
04 LMC Series Motion Controllers
The Lingchen LMC series motion controllers are designed around an open, hard real-time kernel (with jitter < ±0.3 µs). This design thoroughly resolves the non-real-time limitations inherent in traditional Windows-based platforms, ensuring both determinism and instantaneous response for multi-axis commands. Installation is remarkably simple, requiring only a single Ethernet cable for connection; furthermore, utilizing highly efficient asynchronous communication technology, the system enables the synchronized issuance and control of motion commands for up to 12 axes within just 1 millisecond.
05 NAC Series High-Performance Motion Controllers
At the core of the Lingchen NAC controller lies a powerful bus expansion capability, supporting four EtherCAT masters to enable the precise control of 256 axes per station—totaling 4,096 I/O channels. Its motion control capabilities are both comprehensive and robust: beyond standard point-to-point, linear, and circular interpolation, it features advanced functions such as 5-axis interpolation, spline-based trajectory smoothing, and dynamic coordinate systems. Furthermore, it integrates vibration suppression, "soft landing" capabilities, and high-precision position comparison outputs; combined with eight independent interpolation groups and continuous interpolation functionality, it effectively meets the demands of complex trajectories and high-speed synchronization. The development environment is open and flexible, supporting multiple programming languages—including C++, C#, and Python—and allows for direct programming within the real-time operating system, thereby significantly enhancing integration and debugging efficiency.
06 PLC Motion Controller
Lingchen PLC controllers strictly adhere to PLCopen specifications and the IEC 61131-3 international standard, combining high performance, a compact footprint, and a modular design to facilitate easy development and flexible deployment. Widely applicable to automation equipment and production line systems across sectors such as 3C electronics, lithium-ion batteries, packaging, and printing, these controllers can also be extended to serve as network communication nodes within integrated production lines for logistics, automotive, and consumer goods industries. By meeting requirements for internal/external network isolation, high-speed bus communication, and real-time data processing, they provide a stable and reliable control core for a diverse range of industrial environments.
07 Industrial Network Cards
Lingchen industrial network cards are specifically engineered for harsh industrial environments, featuring 10/100/1000Mbps auto-negotiation capabilities to deliver stable and reliable high-speed network connectivity. Characterized by robust anti-interference, surge protection, and wide-temperature operation, these cards are widely deployed in critical applications such as motion control, machine vision, and automation systems. The products feature a flexible installation design—including a standard full-height bracket and an optional half-height bracket—enabling seamless integration into a wide range of smart manufacturing equipment and industrial networks.
08 IO Module
Lingchen Technology offers a comprehensive range of I/O module solutions, designed to meet the diverse requirements of industrial automation flexibly.
LC/LD Series Expandable I/O Modules: Supporting multiple protocols—including EtherCAT, Profinet, Ethernet/IP, and Modbus TCP—these modules allow for the flexible expansion of data acquisition capabilities covering digital signals, analog signals, temperature, pressure, and pulses. They are widely applied across sectors such as 3C electronics, lithium-ion batteries, semiconductors, automotive manufacturing, and medical equipment.
MINI Series I/O Modules: Characterized by their compact size and high real-time performance, this series encompasses digital I/O, analog I/O, temperature modules, and communication modules. They are ideally suited for control and data acquisition scenarios where space constraints and real-time responsiveness are critical requirements.
GWS Series Cabinet-Free I/O Modules: Featuring exceptional stability and convenient network cabling capabilities, these modules are designed for distributed system layouts, enabling significant reductions in both system integration time and costs.
Our entire product portfolio is dedicated to providing users with reliable, easy-to-integrate, and adaptable I/O module support for a wide variety of application scenarios.
