The mass production of lithium-ion cells involves applying a range of manufacturing processes to a range of materials. These processes inevitably result in residual stresses within the individual materials, which when abetted by operational stresses can cause deformation and fracture of the componentry. This contributes to the degradation of electrochemical properties, device performance, and durability of the cells; leading ultimately to cell failure. This experimental study is concerned with determining the mechanical degradation of componentry within cylindrical cells. Mechanical degradation was evaluated for commercial cells using x-ray tomography, mechanical testing and microscopy. Nanoindentation testing was used to characterise mechanical changes in the foil material in three conditions: before cell manufacture, after cell manufacture and after aging. This work represents a novel ex situ characterisation tool and a new approach to understanding degradation in electrochemical systems. Additionally, we anticipate this work to aide modelling of and controlling degradation within electrochemical systems.