AUTOMATION
Robot integrated vision allows inspection to be incorporated into the handling process.This puts the inspection or quality control process in parallel with handling, further reducing the overall cycle time and increasing throughput
Articulated robots would be pedestal mount and may prove too slow in increasing complexity of the installation.
Articulated Robots
Too slow for loading/unloading with single-head EOAT
Spherical work envelope isn’t ideal for covering pallet/matrix
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Therefore a delta or parallel style robot might be optimal for a number of reasons. First the overhead mount is ideal in reducing the footprint of the automation cell. We can reach all places on the PECVD pallets. And when we combine the benefits of the delta with vision it gives us an exceedingly flexible solution that will meet the throughput requirements. As noted below, vision is an enabler not only for parallel linked robots, but it provides the same benefits to all categories of robots.
Delta / Parallel Robots
Overhead mount design ideal forloading/ unloading equipment
Larger delta robots can cover the width of most PECVD pallets
When used with vision guidance, enables extremely good positioning
Excellent flexibility and quickly reconfigurable Robot design optimal for handling cells (lightweight) at high speeds
Flexibility with Vision
Vision has become a highly adopted tool to improve the productivity of robot automation in all industries and all facets of placement. Vision systems offer tremendous flexibility for applications that don’t require fixtures or trays for part location. Vision-guidance is a feature that allows the vision system to take a picture and compute a part’s location and orientation and guide the robot to the part using a computed robot-to-camera transformation obtained through an automated calibration process.
It allows tremendous flexibility and cost-savings because parts don’t have to be fixtured. Parts can
be randomly presented to the robot without pre- orientation or alignment or put into a tray which also reduces cost. These systems frequently incorporate line tracking which enables the robot to pick these parts from a moving belt which further optimizes the production process.
Robot integrated vision allows inspection to be incorporated into the handling process. This puts the inspection or quality control process in parallel with handling, further reducing the overall cycle time and increasing throughput. Different part geometries only require vision re-training or the selection of a recipe instead of manual changes in fixtures and tooling.
This increases the overall lifetime profit of the equipment by virtue of its optimization and improved throughput. Most robot manufacturers offer packages with multiple cameras and tracking solutions for integration into a single cell. This offers tremendous power and flexibility for solar manufacturing.
Robotic Solar Manufacturing Summary
The common goal for solar manufacturers is to drive down the cost per watt. As the solar industry strives to achieve grid parity, manufacturers need to be knowledgeable about modern robotics and automation technologies and the value they contribute to helping reduce the cost of solar cells. History has shown that automation has played a significant role in reducing manufacturing costs in many manufacturing industries, and when the costs associated with higher quality and yields are considered, the benefits of automation offer an even more appealing value proposition. While robotics and automation may be viewed by some industries as mature technologies, industry leaders are continuing to develop innovative products and new technologies that are ideal for solar manufacturing processes.
It would be prudent for solar manufacturers to look outside of their industry for the best practices in high volume manufacturing with automation and robotics to achieve their cost reduction initiatives.
www.solar-pv-management.com Issue II 2010
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