Aluminum 6061 Lifting Sleeve
The Aluminum 6061 Lifting Sleeve is a load-bearing structural component for electric vehicle battery packs. It lifts, positions and secures battery packs during assembly and transport, so it must meet strict dimensional tolerance and safety load standards in high-volume production. The part is a flanged hollow sleeve with precision top threads and high-precision mating surfaces.
Conventionally, this component is produced by full CNC milling. Our manufacturing route replaces most of that with high-pressure cold heading followed by minimal precision machining of only the critical functional areas — the top threads and the seating mating surfaces. Cold heading forms the integral blank in a single operation with short cycle times and material utilization up to 98%, avoiding the near-total material waste of machining from bar stock.
Cold forming also improves the part itself. Full CNC machining severs the internal grain flow of the aluminum, leaving weak points where stress fractures can start under continuous lifting loads and cyclic fatigue. Cold heading shapes the metal by high-pressure plastic deformation, so grain flow remains continuous and unbroken along the flange and cylindrical body. Tensile testing confirms better stress-fracture resistance than machined equivalents, which raises the safety margin of battery pack lifting.
The process change also transforms productivity and cost. Conventional full CNC takes roughly 20 minutes per unit; with cold heading followed by limited finishing, total cycle time is held within about 4 minutes. Without additional equipment or floor space, a single line's daily output rises from 60 to 300 units, and the unit cost falls from RMB 50 to RMB 20 — a 60% reduction that lowers the customer's overall BOM cost for battery pack assemblies.
Widely applicable to various new-energy vehicle power battery packs, the sleeve is used for battery pack mass assembly, lifting and transportation, and structural fastening.
It fully meets the lifting and assembly fastening demands of diverse power battery pack designs, and serves as an upgraded solution for EV battery pack lifting components where precision, safety and cost efficiency must all be satisfied.
