Assembly - January 2009 - (Page 66) ASSEMBLY Automated Assembly Capital Spending A Sunny Disposition To help curb costs, solar panel manufacturers are increasingly employing robotics as much as possible. ecades after the energy shocks of the 1970s first introduced Americans to the idea of using direct sunlight as an alternative to coal and oil, solar panels are finally becoming a legitimate contender in the marketplace. Long relegated to satellites and light-powered calculators, photovoltaic (PV) panels, which create electrical power directly from the sun’s rays, are D Vision and force-sensing equipped robots help minimize breakage during handling of individual photovoltaic cells. Photo courtesy Stäubli Corp. By Adam Cort Senior editor increasingly being employed to help power homes and businesses. Germany is currently leading the way in PV usage with half the world’s installed capacity. However, faced with skyrocketing fuel process, a number of other countries are following suite, including the United States and China. Since 2002, global demand for PV products has been increasing approximately 50 percent annually. In 2007, PV equipment manufacturers recorded $12.9 billion in sales. That number is expected to increase to slightly over $32 billion by 2012. Unfortunately, PV panels are still expensive to manufacture, to the point where the cost remains dramatically higher per watt than conventional energy. For example, the semiconductor wafers that do the actual converting, and serve as the heart of the dozens of cells making up a single crystalline silicon panel, require a number of expensive materials, including high-quality silicon. The process of integrating these cells into a single panel capable of withstanding the rigors of years of service is also both delicate and highly labor intensive. To help curb these costs, manufacturers are increasingly employing robotics to automate the process as much as possible, whether it’s manipulating individual wafers or palletizing finished panels for shipment. For example, each solar panel is comprised of many small photovoltaic cells, all connected electrically in a process known as stringing. Failure to correctly place or connect the cells comprising a solar panel can have a marked effect on its efficiency. By implementing robots, manufacturers ensure their products function as intended out in the field. Along these same lines, each of the 66 ASSEMBLY / January 2009 www.assemblymag.com http://www.assemblymag.com
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