Cathode Roller
The cathode roller is the beating heart of every electrolytic copper foil line - and its precision decides the quality of everything that follows. AstraRoll engineers and manufactures titanium cathode rollers built for the demands of modern foil production: mirror-polished surfaces for flawless foil release, tight concentricity for uniform thickness, and corrosion-resistant construction that keeps your line running shift after shift. We produce rollers for lithium battery foil, standard electrolytic foil and PCB applications, in custom diameters, face widths and surface specifications matched to your process. Every roller is machined, balanced and inspected in-house, with full dimensional reports on delivery. Tell us your line parameters, and our engineers will work with you to specify the roller your process deserves.
Cathode Roller FAQs
Titanium is the preferred material for electrolytic copper foil because of its excellent corrosion resistance in the sulphate electrolyte, its high electrical conductivity, and its clean surface, which allows the deposited foil to peel off uniformly. We manufacture shells from high-purity titanium (e.g. TA1/TA2 grade), selected for consistent mechanical and electrochemical performance. Stainless steel (SUS316L/304) cathode rollers are also available for processes where titanium is not required.
Our standard cathode rollers are supplied with a mirror-polished working surface at Ra 0.2–0.4 μm, with tighter finishes available on request. Roundness and run-out are controlled to industry-leading tolerances - typically within 0.05 mm TIR, and tighter for high-specification lines. Every roller is measured with precision instruments and ships with an inspection report covering surface roughness, geometry and balance.
We produce cathode rollers in a wide range of diameters and face widths, including the large-diameter rollers (e.g. Φ2000 mm and above) used in modern lithium battery foil lines, as well as standard and small formats. Configurations can be tailored: titanium shell with steel or stainless mandrel, your specified shaft ends, conductive structures and surface treatments. If you send your drawing or line parameters, we will confirm feasibility and delivery time quickly.
Our cathode rollers serve the full range of electrolytic copper foil production: ultra-thin lithium battery foil (6–8 μm), standard electrolytic foil (12–35 μm) for electronics and construction, and PCB base foil. They are also used in related electrodeposition processes where a precision rotating cathode is required. Tell us your application and foil spec, and we will recommend the right roller design.
Every cathode roller is backed by full engineering support: we review your process requirements before production, provide drawings for approval, and deliver complete quality documentation - material certificates, dimensional inspection reports, surface roughness measurements and balance test results. Our team supports installation and commissioning, and we welcome long-term supply agreements for foil producers who need consistent, repeatable quality.
What you may want to know about Cathode Roller
The cathode roller: precision at the heart of copper foil production
Electrolytic copper foil is produced by electrodepositing copper onto a rotating cylindrical cathode immersed in a copper sulphate electrolyte. As the roller turns, a thin layer of copper forms on its surface and is continuously peeled off as foil - which means the roller's surface quality is transferred directly to every metre of foil your line produces. This is why the cathode roller is considered the most critical component of the entire foil machine: a surface defect, a trace of run-out, or a local variation in finish will appear as pinholes, thickness variation or surface flaws in the final foil, affecting downstream performance in batteries, circuit boards and electronic devices.
Titanium has become the material of choice for modern cathode rollers because it combines corrosion resistance in the electrolyte with the clean, stable surface that allows ultra-thin foil (as fine as 6–8 μm for lithium batteries) to release uniformly. Manufacturing such a roller demands a complete engineering chain: titanium shell forming and welding, precision machining of the working surface, mirror polishing, dynamic balancing, and rigorous final inspection. At AstraRoll, every cathode roller is produced in-house by engineers who understand both the metallurgy and the electrochemistry of foil production, and each roller is delivered with full dimensional and material documentation. Whether you are building a new copper foil line, upgrading an existing one, or replacing a roller for a planned maintenance stop, our team can engineer a cathode roller matched to your exact process parameters - diameter, face width, surface finish, conductive design and tolerance requirements. Contact AstraRoll today to discuss your cathode roller requirements, request a quotation, or speak with our engineering team about optimising your foil production line.