Dr. Schenk SolarInspect.RollToRoll

Product Briefing Outline:

SolarInspect.RollToRoll is a turnkey vision system that offers reliable quality control throughout the running production process of flexible thin film solar modules based on roll-to-roll processes.

Problem:

With the fast developing PV market, more and more areas of application open up for flexible thin film solar modules based on roll-to-roll processes. For manufacturers of these modules, the optical inspection of the material plays an important role when it comes to the optimization of module quality.
If defects in the base material, such as particles, bumps, contaminations and dents, remain undetected, the module passes through all subsequent processing steps inducing unnecessary production costs. If not detected during final sample testing – defect modules might even be delivered to the customer!
Just as important as the control of incoming quality is the inspection after important process steps like layer deposition or scribing. The detection of irregularities, such as pinholes or color and layer thickness variations, will in addition enable to draw conclusions about the production process. Only a constant monitoring allows fast corrective action to be taken when process deviations appear.

Solution:

The SolarInspect.RollToRoll from Dr. Schenk has been designed to fulfill these special requirements for the production of flexible thin film solar modules. Fully integrated in-line after relevant production steps, the SolarInspect.RollToRoll systems detect, pinpoint and accurately classify defects or irregularities on the sur¬faces of incoming flexible base materials through to the finished flexible solar module. The user-friendly graphical interface provides clear diagrams and ana¬lyzing tools, displaying detailed defect information together with high-resolution images.

For this new solution, Dr. Schenk has combined its outstanding experience in inspecting thin film solar modules on glass substrates with those in inspecting web material for the paper, metal and plastics industries. Manufacturers can benefit from the reliability of the Dr. Schenk systems and the thorough expertise of the project engineers.

Applications:

SolarInspect.RollToRoll is applicable to nearly all thin film solar modules based on roll-to-roll processes including modules on metal and plastics base. It reliably inspects material of any width, thickness and speed. The system is highly flexible for a perfect adaptation to customer needs and consists of modular components to keep the investment low.

Platform:

The inspection information is processed using high performance LED illumination units, high-resolution CCD Line scan cameras and an imaging software specifically designed for roll-to-roll material for solar modules.

Availability:

SolarInspect.RollToRoll is available since September 2008 worldwide.