Vapes come in various types, but regardless of the specific type, they all rely on three main components: the atomization component, the electronic component, and the structural component.Now, let’s decipher the structure of a vape in one article.
1）Atomization Component: This component mainly includes the atomizer core, wicking material, and oil storage. Its primary function is to atomize the e-liquid and store it.
2）Electronic Component: It consists of the battery, mouthpiece, control board, and other electronic elements. These components provide power, control functions such as power output, temperature regulation, and automatic switches.
3）Structural Component: The main component is the outer shell, which also includes components such as the connector pin, battery holder, sealing silicone, and mouthpiece filter.
1.Atomization Component of an vape
The atomization component primarily consists of various types of atomizer cores (such as ceramic cores, cotton cores), heating wires, wicking cotton, and oil storage cotton.
Atomizer Core
The atomizer core is composed of a heating metal and wicking material. As vapes predominantly use resistance heating, heating metals such as iron-chromium, nickel-chromium, titanium, 316L stainless steel, palladium-silver, tungsten alloys, and others are essential. These metals can be shaped into heating wires, porous mesh sheets, thick film printed metal films, PVD coatings, and other forms.
At a microscopic level, the e-liquid is heated on the heating metal, transforming it from a liquid to a vapor state. This process is manifested as atomization.
In practical applications, the heating metal is often combined with wicking materials such as wicking cotton and porous ceramic substrates. They are intertwined, embedded, or laid out to allow a small amount of e-liquid to flow to the heating metal, facilitating rapid atomization.
In terms of types, atomizer cores can be classified into cotton cores and ceramic cores. Cotton cores include cotton-wrapped heating wires and etched mesh-wrapped cotton, while ceramic cores include embedded wire ceramic cores, mesh sheet ceramic cores, and thick film printed ceramic cores. Additionally, heated non-burning (HNB) devices come in sheet, needle, and cylinder shapes. 《The Three Major Vaporization Technologies of china vape》provides more information on vaporization technologies
Oil Storage Cotton
As the name suggests, oil storage cotton is responsible for storing the e-liquid. Its application greatly improves the user experience of disposable vapes, effectively addressing the issue of e-liquid leakage in early disposable vapes and significantly enhancing the puff count.
Oil storage cotton emerged with the rapid growth of the disposable vape market and is not limited to oil storage alone. It also has significant market potential in the application of mouthpiece filters.
In terms of manufacturing processes, oil storage cotton is typically prepared through extrusion of fibers and thermal bonding. Common materials include PP and PET fibers, while some high-temperature resistant requirements may use PA fibers or even PI.
2.Electronic Component of an vape
The electronic component includes the battery, mouthpiece, control board, and further elements such as the display screen, chipset, PCB board, fuse, thermistor, and more.
Battery
The battery determines the lifespan and usage duration of an vape. The battery capacity directly affects the vaping time. It serves as the power source for the vape and is usually rechargeable, allowing for recharging as needed. vape batteries come in different types, including soft-pack and hard-shell, cylindrical and square. This results in variations such as cylindrical soft-pack batteries, square soft-pack batteries, cylindrical steel shell batteries, and more.
The positive electrode materials for vape batteries include three types: pure cobalt series, ternary series, and a combination of the two.
Pure cobalt is the dominant material in the market, offering advantages such as a high discharge voltage plateau, high-rate discharge, and high energy density. The discharge voltage plateau of pure cobalt ranges from 3.4V to 3.9V, while the discharge plateau of ternary series batteries is mainly between 3.6V and 3.7V. They also have high discharge rate requirements, with discharge rates of 8-10C, such as the 13350 and 13400 models, which can sustain a continuous discharge capacity of 3A.
Mouthpiece and Control Board
The mouthpiece is currently the mainstream activation component of vapes and plays a crucial role in simulating the traditional smoking process.
Typically, the mouthpiece refers to the combination of a capacitive mouthpiece and a chipset, which is mounted on the control board. It functions in intelligent activation, charging and discharging management, status indication, output power regulation, and more. In terms of types, there is a trend from polarized to silicon microphones.
The control board integrates various electronic components on a PCB board, including the mouthpiece, display screen, MCU, fuse, MOSFET, thermistor, and others. The production processes for the board include wire bonding and surface mount technology (SMT).
Display Screen, Fuse,Thermistor, and Other Components
Some vapes may feature a display screen that provides information such as battery life, power settings, puff count, and other relevant data.
A fuse is a safety component that protects the vape from excessive current and prevents short circuits. It helps ensure the safe operation of the device.
A thermistor is a temperature-sensitive resistor that can be used for temperature control purposes. It measures the temperature of the atomizer and regulates the power output accordingly, providing a consistent vaping experience.
3.Structural Components
The structural components of an vape include the outer shell, oil reservoir, battery holder, sealing silicone, spring-loaded pin, magnets, and other parts.
Outer Shell (Plastic, Aluminum Alloy)
Regardless of the type of vape or HNB (Heat-Not-Burn) device, the outer shell is an essential component. As they say, “Clothes make the man,” and the outer shell plays a crucial role in the appearance and appeal of the product.
Different products may use different materials for the outer shell. For example, disposable vapes primarily use plastic shells made of PC (polycarbonate) or ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene). Common manufacturing processes include injection molding with tactile paint spraying (gradient color or monochrome), as well as embossing, two-color injection molding, speckling, and spray-free techniques.
Of course, disposable vapes can also adopt aluminum alloy shells with tactile paint. For refillable devices, aluminum alloy is often used to provide a better feel. For larger devices, zinc alloy or similar materials may be used to enhance the tactile experience.
Furthermore, the outer shell can be a combination of different materials for aesthetic purposes. For instance, a certain brand of disposable vape in the UK uses a PC transparent shell to create a crystal-clear texture, combined with anodized aluminum alloy tubes in various colors.
Common surface treatment techniques include oil spraying (painting), direct labeling, skin application, in-mold labeling (IML), and anodization.
Plastic Components: Oil Reservoir, Battery Holder, Base
In addition to the outer shell, vapes also consist of plastic components such as the oil reservoir, battery holder, and base. Materials commonly used include PCTG (for the oil reservoir), PC/ABS, PEEK (for HNB devices), PBT, and PP. These components are mostly manufactured through injection molding, and metal parts are rarely used.
Sealing Silicone
Sealing silicone is used in vapes primarily to prevent oil leakage and ensure a tight and compact structure. It is applied in areas such as the mouthpiece cover, airflow plug, oil reservoir base, microphone base, sealing rings for refillable devices, and seals for larger atomizer cores.
Spring-Loaded Pin and Magnets
Spring-loaded pins, also known as Pogo pins, spring pins, charging pins, or probe connectors, are mainly used in refillable devices, CBD vaporizers, larger atomizers, and HNB devices. These types of atomizer structures are separated from the battery pole, requiring a pin to establish the connection. Magnets are often used in conjunction with the pins.
Mouthpiece Section
The mouthpiece section is the part that users inhale vapor from, typically consisting of the mouthpiece or the part that comes into contact with the lips. The mouthpiece section is usually directly connected to the atomizer.
Overall, vapes consist of these three main components: the atomization component, electronic component, and structural component. Each component plays a crucial role in delivering a satisfying vaping experience while ensuring safety and functionality.
If you also want to learn about the manufacturing process of vapes, please read this article:《What is the manufacturing process of vapes》?
