VINSPECsolar:  Optical quality inspection within the handling process of solar cells

06 May 2009 | Vitronic
Nominations: Best process technology c-Si cell manufacturing lines

The first step of the automated solar module production process is the soldering of the solar cells in to a string. During the feeding of the cells our machine vision system VINSPECsolar inspects the cells for optical quality criteria. This inspection takes place before the integration of the cells in to a module. The machine vision system VINSPECsolar records the exact position of the cell and calculates the difference between the target and current position. The corrected coordinates are submitted to the handling system. Thereby optimal handling of the cell is guaranteed. Additionally VINSPECsolar inspects the shape of the cell and the quality of the printing on the front side.  Solar cells of a poor quality and breakages can be picked out without delaying production. VINSPECsolar   reliable detects all relevant faults criteria and classifies them. VINSPECsolar provides a critical contribution to high product quality and distinct classification.

Description

The solar cells are stacked and an industry robot with a gripper transports the top cell to the tray, where the cells were soldered to a string. During the handling of the cell the robot passes a high-resolution camera and an adapted illumination. Within seconds the camera takes a picture and the software examines the captured data. The robot gets the exact coordinates for dropping the solar cell in the correct place before it approaches the final position. Without stopping or disturbing the handling process the coordinates can be evaluated and a quality inspection is carried out. The picture and the data are taken during the movement of the industry robot. The blur due to movement is countered using a short time illumination.

Innovative Aspect

A machine vision system is always necessary for handling solar cells. However, for the first time it’s possible to implement a quality inspection within the handling process by using a high resolution camera and innovative software. Within the cycling segment and the handling of the solar cells VINSPECsolar provides complete quality inspection:

  • Shape inspection
  • Breakage and chippings on the edges
  • Printing completeness
  • Position of the printing
  • Cracks and printing spots

Benefits

  • Complete quality inspection of the solar cells as a incoming control
  • Increasing production output by diverting defect cells as soon as possible. Even before there were soldered.
  • Avoiding breakages in the production line as defective cells are removed at the beginning of production

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