Three Tips to Improve Solar Cell Module Production Efficiency

The photovoltaic (PV) industry is expected to grow exponentially over the next five years, and market experts predict that the global market will more than double by 2014.

Although this growth rate is unforgettable, and overall it is good news for the PV industry, battery manufacturers face the only challenge – how to maintain profitability while meeting demand growth. To maintain competitiveness and take advantage of industrial development opportunities, battery module manufacturers must take measures to increase overall production efficiency, reduce unit costs, automate the production line, reduce material losses, and reduce equipment downtime. This is why battery module manufacturers increase their production capacity and their bottom line. three methods.

Automatic control speed

Before solar energy was seen as a viable energy source, the production capacity of a 100,000-kilowatt battery assembly plant was large. Today, as battery module manufacturers strive to meet the ever-increasing market demand for solar products worldwide and factories continue to expand, there will be manufacturing plants with an annual production capacity of 300,000 kilowatts and above. This high productivity has created the need to increase production efficiency, so automated processes become the norm.

One key aspect of automation that helps manufacturers increase their overall production capacity is production speed. Automation maximizes production at each step of the production process, increasing production capacity, while avoiding the need for additional investment in the plant's continuous expansion to meet continued growth in demand.

Automated production lines improve accuracy by avoiding human errors and ensure consistently high quality end products. Automation also reduces manpower requirements and further reduces production costs.

How automation can bring benefits to PV cell module production lines is a good example. The frame sealant tape is used to fix the solar cell module on the metal frame to ensure that the mechanical load requirements of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard are met. Bonding of the sealing tape plays an important role in ensuring reliable bonding and centering of the battery assembly in the frame. Although smaller enterprise packaging processes may use hand-paste tools, larger manufacturers require advanced solutions that provide high precision in high-speed production. Semi-automatic taping equipment or automatic tape dispensers and framed workstations increase the speed of production, helping manufacturers to increase productivity and maximize production while also reducing labor costs.

For manufacturers looking for new technologies to increase production efficiency, there is now a new generation of foam sealant that can be instantly bonded by hot coating of the thermosetting material in the frame-packing process. The sealant immediately reaches the glass, backplane, and frame of the battery assembly. High adhesive strength ensures stable quality. Compared with the traditional pumpable sealant such as silicone, the curing time of this new mixed foam sealant is greatly shortened, eliminating the cleaning time.

To further simplify the assembly process, the new generation of single-frame systems uses advanced solutions that provide for use with automated systems. The concept of the patented single frame concept is the use of a single continuous border profile, pre-cut corners, which can be wrapped around the solar cell module using a robotic hand. Compared to conventional methods, this process can be completed very quickly, with less than 30 seconds per cell assembly.

Make full use of valuable resources

The waste of resources such as materials, components, or labor will increase the unit cost of each solar cell module, thereby significantly affecting the bottom line of the battery module manufacturer. Each process in the production operation should be carefully evaluated to reduce waste.

For example, the solar cell assembly frame process offers manufacturers tremendous opportunities to reduce production investment. With the traditional sealing method, excessive silicone is spilled on the surface of the battery assembly after the battery assembly is inserted into the frame, resulting in waste. The use of the foam sealant can easily avoid this cost. This new technology enables optimal cavity filling without any overflow, allowing manufacturers to save on unnecessary material costs and cleaning man-hours.

Another way to reduce waste is to dispense with the need for three of the four corner keys that the battery pack houses. Using a single-frame system can achieve this goal, reducing the required material resources and the unit cost of each battery component.

Use existing equipment

There are many ways for manufacturers to increase efficiency without the need to increase expensive investment in fixed assets or change production lines. One of the methods is to extend the service life of the consumables used in the photovoltaic cell module manufacturing process as much as possible. Selecting a product with a long service life means that the downtime of the device can be controlled to a minimum, thus reducing costs by reducing the frequency of purchase of new consumables.

The vacuum lamination process is the best example. The development of silicone film formulations has led to the development of thin films that are very resistant to the venting of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA) at high temperatures, saving significant costs for battery module manufacturers. Less silica gel is needed for a fixed period of time, reducing the impact on the purchase logistics and reducing inventory requirements. In addition, the time required to replace the film varies from four to eight hours, becoming a bottleneck in the lamination process. By increasing the number of cycles per film, laminator downtime can be greatly reduced. Avoid the need for unnecessary costs for other laminators to go online and help increase the capacity and output of existing equipment to achieve optimal efficiency.

In order to remain competitive in a continuously developing market, photovoltaic cell module manufacturers must focus on increasing production efficiency and reducing total production costs. The small adjustments in PV cell module manufacturing processes, such as the use of automation technology, the selection of advanced materials, and the extension of the useful life of consumables, are manufacturers' ways to increase efficiency without the need for additional equipment investment.