Fire breaks out at Samsung factory responsible for Note 7 battery production
The Galaxy Note 7 battery saga continues to cause problems for Samsung, as a fire broke out Wednesday at a facility used in the production of the faulty batteries found in the discontinued smartphone.
The fire at Samsung SDI Co. in Tianjin, northern China, is described by Samsung SDI spokesperson Shin Yong-doo to Reuters as minor. No casualties were reported at the facility, with the factory continuing to operate as normal without any significant impact to its production lines.
The local fire service and Samsung both advise the fire broke out in part of the facility used for storing waste materials, including faulty batteries. The emergency service added in a microblog the source of the fire was "lithium batteries inside the production works and some half-finished products."
Despite being deemed "minor," the scale of the fire was such that 110 firefighters and 19 trucks were called out to put out the fire. On a nearby road, passers by took photographs of the plume of black smoke, uploading images to Sina Weibo.
Samsung SDI is one of the suppliers of batteries for Samsung's ill-fated Galaxy Note 7, which was the subject of a global recall after a number of incidents where the smartphone caught fire. An investigation found two issues caused the fires, with an initial design flaw causing short circuits in one corner of the battery, while a manufacturing issue introducing an ultrasonic welding defect affected the replacement battery batch.
The major battery problems have prompted calls to improve the safety standards of lithium-ion battery production, with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission urging for modernized safety standards for battery production. The South Korean government has also stepped in, introducing new safety regulations relating to battery production and fault investigation.
The recall is estimated to ultimately cost Samsung at least $5 billion in losses, though this didn't stop the electronics producer from increasing its operating profits in its most recent quarterly financial results.
The fire at Samsung SDI Co. in Tianjin, northern China, is described by Samsung SDI spokesperson Shin Yong-doo to Reuters as minor. No casualties were reported at the facility, with the factory continuing to operate as normal without any significant impact to its production lines.
The local fire service and Samsung both advise the fire broke out in part of the facility used for storing waste materials, including faulty batteries. The emergency service added in a microblog the source of the fire was "lithium batteries inside the production works and some half-finished products."
Despite being deemed "minor," the scale of the fire was such that 110 firefighters and 19 trucks were called out to put out the fire. On a nearby road, passers by took photographs of the plume of black smoke, uploading images to Sina Weibo.
Samsung SDI is one of the suppliers of batteries for Samsung's ill-fated Galaxy Note 7, which was the subject of a global recall after a number of incidents where the smartphone caught fire. An investigation found two issues caused the fires, with an initial design flaw causing short circuits in one corner of the battery, while a manufacturing issue introducing an ultrasonic welding defect affected the replacement battery batch.
The major battery problems have prompted calls to improve the safety standards of lithium-ion battery production, with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission urging for modernized safety standards for battery production. The South Korean government has also stepped in, introducing new safety regulations relating to battery production and fault investigation.
The recall is estimated to ultimately cost Samsung at least $5 billion in losses, though this didn't stop the electronics producer from increasing its operating profits in its most recent quarterly financial results.
Comments
Nevermind it already happened befire:
*Before but I'll keep the typo as it's relevant to the story. Lol
Look at an iPhone teardown. There is empty space all around the battery. Room to grow and breathe. Can you imagine Apple, of all people, leaving empty space in their designs if it wasn't warranted? The people who remove headphone jacks to make space?
Note 7? No space around the battery. A whopping 3,500 mAh battery in less physical volume than the iPhone Plus' 3,000 mAh battery!
This is is why I detest their "there was nothing wrong with the design of the phone" stance. The design of a small phone with a big screen and a big battery is a flawed design. They needed to have shipped it with a 3,000 mAh battery like the Note 5. But they couldn't bear the reviews that would've complained about battery life.
Design is about trade offs. Making hard choices. Compromises. Simplification.
Maybe they need to redesign the device.
Lithium is a volatile element that reacts with air and water, thereby requiring special containment to help ensure this doesn't happen. We've seen factory issues with many companies over the years.
Coincidently (not ironically), last week's episode of NOVA titled "Search of the Super Battery," covered the many pros and cons of Lithium, Li-Ion, and other current and potential future battery chemistries. One interesting segment involved Mike Zimmerman's solid-state, fire retardant, plastic battery design that will not catch fire if punctured in any way because it doesn't use a flammable liquid to pass ions or allow the formation of dendrites.