Automated XRD sample preparation machine for next-generation graphite production
Cody is entering the final phase of completing a prototype for an automated machine developed in collaboration with Vianode and SINTEF. The system is designed to automate sample preparation for XRD analysis of graphite materials used in battery production - a step that has traditionally been manual, time-consuming, and prone to variability.
The machine is part of the broader national initiative to accelerate the development of the green, digital factory for Norway's process industry. The project, named GreenBox, is led by Vianode and supported through the Green Platform scheme, with the ambition to strengthen both competitiveness and sustainability through advanced technology and digitalization.
This project brought together a high level of technical complexity, integrating high-precision sensors, robotics, automated workflows, and carefully engineered solutions for safe handling, ventilation, and powder and dust control. Strong emphasis was placed on the operator experience, ensuring the system is both safe and intuitive to use. At the same time, the design incorporates built-in flexibility to support ongoing improvements, customization, and adaptation to similar materials and processes - drawing on rapid prototyping techniques such as 3D printing alongside a combination of standard and custom-built components developed by Cody.
Tackling a long-standing industry challenge
In graphite production for batteries, material characterization is critical for ensuring consistent product quality. Yet many laboratories still rely on manual sample preparation workflows.
Within GreenBox, Cody's mandate was to explore automated, efficient solutions, through a pilot project, for preparing samples that today are prone to varying outputs from operator to operator.
Drawing on Cody’s experience in designing and integrating advanced industrial solutions, they assembled a multidisciplinary team of engineers and designers to address the challenge. The result is a purpose-built pilot system that combines mechanics, robotics, and intelligent workflow design to reduce variability in the sample preparation process. With a strong focus on modularity and flexibility, the system is designed to support tuning, iterative adjustments, additional functionality, and continued development as requirements evolve.
The new machine directly addresses this by automating the sample preparation workflow for graphite materials samples.
Automation as a key differentiator
Full automation is a significant step forward, but one feature that particularly stands out is the system's backloading capability. By automating the backloading process, the system eliminates any risk of disturbing or tampering with the sample surface - a critical factor when preparing materials of this nature. This approach is also broadly applicable, making it a robust method for handling a wide range of similar powder substances.
Combined with automated sample handling, preparation, the backloading design enables reliable preparation of even the most difficult powders. In practice, this transforms XRD sample preparation from a lab-bound, manual task into an industrialized quality control process aligned with modern battery material production.
Built for the digital process industry
The GreenBox program aims to lay the foundation for future green, digital factories in Norway's process industry, where advanced instrumentation, automation, and data models work together to optimize production. Cody's machine fits directly into this vision. By delivering faster and more reliable graphite characterization, the solution supports tighter process control, early batch verification, higher production uptime, and ultimately more resource-efficient battery material manufacturing.
The technology will be tested alongside Vianode's industrial developments, with the goal of full-scale implementation as new production capacity comes online.
“This project brought together expertise from across Cody, spanning powder handling, design, automation, and mechanical and electrical engineering. The machine integrates several individually critical core functions, including dispensing, mixing, high-precision measurement, and sample preparation. While each function is valuable on its own, the real complexity lies in how they are combined and controlled within a single, reliable system. Delivering this required strong cross-disciplinary collaboration and a disciplined, structured approach.” – Jared Hansen, Project Manager, Cody
Implications for the wider process industry
The project is part of a broader industrial collaboration where multiple partners contribute complementary expertise. Vianode's planned factory will serve as a testbed for new technology, while Elkem, Hydro, the Future Materials Catapult Center, and the Eyde Cluster play key roles in disseminating innovation across the process industry. Cody participates alongside Cybernetica, Tratec Norcon, and Tunable as technology suppliers, with the shared objective of developing solutions that can be scaled beyond single installations. Research partners NORCE and SINTEF contribute by ensuring that the latest scientific advances are applied to the project's priority areas.
Within the GreenBox framework, automated sampling and preparation are seen as key enablers for more robust process control, reduced variability, and improved resource efficiency in high-temperature and complex production environments. Beyond its immediate role in graphite quality control, this project demonstrates how advanced automation and digital instrumentation can be applied more broadly across similar process industries when handling difficult materials.
Conclusion
The project has now moved from research to pilot testing and the system is expected to become an important building block in the digital quality infrastructure surrounding next-generation graphite production. This is a crucial component of the battery supply chain.
For Cody, the project marks a strategic step deeper into the process industry and into the rapidly expanding battery value chain — demonstrating that complex, multi-disciplinary challenges can be met with precision engineering, cross-functional collaboration, and a clear vision for the factory of the future.
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Magnus is our Chief Business Development Officer, and with his experience in both mechanical design, automation, project management, and sales, he has full control over what Cody can deliver. He also delves deep into the Machinery Directive, CE marking, and harmonized standards to ensure that what we deliver complies with laws and regulations.
