Press Release ecoContact – the world’s fastest fully automatic contacting system for the manufacture of thin-film photovoltaic modules More efficient contacting of thin-film modules St. Georgen, Germany – Developed by ACI-ecotec, ecoContact requires less than 40 seconds to manufacture a thin-film photovoltaic (PV) module, completely automatically. As well as offering outstanding speed and high contact quality, the system is highly flexible and extremely economical with materials. This stateof-the-art solution can be used to apply small pieces of adhesive tape for attaching bus bars – helping save up to 100,000 euros a year in adhesive materials alone, compared to other systems. Because of the large capital expenditure involved, production systems for thin-film photovoltaic modules must operate as efficiently as possible. And that is where ecoContact comes in. This innovative and fully automatic contacting system was developed by St. Georgen-based automation specialist ACI-ecotec GmbH & CO. KG. It comprises standard components for applying conductive adhesives, longitudinal and lateral contacting and soldering bus bars, in accordance with the corresponding production technology. These components can be combined in a flexible way to manufacture all common thin-film module sizes. The substrates are transported and precisely positioned using a multi-lane conveyor belt. The patented ecoContact system is already being used in more than ten production facilities for thin-film PV modules worldwide. Application of conductive adhesives using two autonomous dispensing heads The conductive adhesive is applied via two dispensing heads at speeds of between 40 and 70 mm per second, with ongoing monitoring of the needles Any bumps or irregularities in the surface of the glass plate are automatically levelled out. Thanks to the controlled, high-precision application, only around one gram of adhesive is required for a substrate that is 1300 to 1400 mm long. Because the CNC heads operate autonomously, the position, length and distance between the adhesive strips can be programmed flexibly. This enables the application of more than two adhesive strips without modifications. High-precision contacting with huge cost savings in materials Following application of the conductive adhesive, the substrate is automatically indexed and aligned for longitudinal contacting. The tinplated bus bar is applied using reels holding up to 380 mm of material, minimising downtime due to changeovers. To maintain the required tension between the continuously spinning reel and cyclical application of the bus bar, the system has an integrated bobbin. This detects if there is insufficient bus bar left on the reel and stops the machine automatically, minimising substrate waste. To prevent the bus bar from breaking loose until the adhesive has cured at over 100 °C in the laminator, it is fixed with specially designed adhesive tape. In conventional contacting, this tape is applied along the entire length of the bus bar. However, ACI-ecotec deploys an innovative solution that automatically cuts small pieces of tape from the roll, removes them from their backing and sticks them onto the bus bar at predefined points. This economic use of the adhesive tape enables annual cost savings of up to 100,000 euros a year, as well as a significant increase in system availability. Exactly the same technology is used for lateral contacting. Afterwards, at a different workstation, the bus bar contacts are soldered together and their ends turned upwards or downwards, in accordance with the customer’s specifications. Optionally, the glass cover can also be applied fully automatically. Greater productivity and flexibility Like the adhesive dispensing station, the standard components for longitudinal and lateral contacting are fitted with two autonomous CNC units for attaching the bus bar. With ecoContact, ACI-ecotec aims for manufacturing times of less than 40 seconds for a complete thin-film PV module. Furthermore, the redundant solution, which has programmable axes, allows production to continue while maintenance work is being performed on one of the dispensing heads or application components. Robust design with integrated switchgear cabinet Each ecoContact module is based on a stable steel structure with an integrated switchgear cabinet. As well as saving space, this design enables rapid implementation of the contacting system. More information: ACI-ecotec GmbH & Co. KG, Bahnhofstrasse 10, 78112 St. Georgen, Germany. Phone +49 (0)7724 934-0, www.aciecotec.com About ACI-ecotec ACI-ecotec GmbH & Co. KG was founded in 2004 in St. Georgen, Germany, following the strategic acquisition and restructuring of ecotec GmbH by the ACI Group. The company is a global provider of innovative manufacturing equipment to the photovoltaic sector and automotive industry. ACI-ecotec is a world leader in the photovoltaic sector thanks to state-of-the-art solutions such as ecoContact, the fully automatic contacting system for manufacturing thin-film modules, the wafer-separator system ecoSplit, and ecoCarrier – a carrier system for silicone cells and wafers. In addition, ACIecotec develops turnkey solutions in collaboration with partners. For the automotive industry, ACI-ecotec mainly develops customer-specific automation solutions for diverse applications. In addition, OEM products such as the highly flexible transfer system ecoTrans and the (un)loading module ecoLoad are specially developed and marketed for the fully automatic handling of small parts that roll or move easily, individually or in bulk. ACI-ecotec is a member of the ACI Group. This network of companies also includes acp – advanced clean production GmbH in Esslingen, producer of CO2 snow jet cleaning systems, micro dispensers and measuring solutions; Stuttgart-based acp IT AG, whose core competencies lie in IT solutions for production and planning; boraident GmbH in Halle that focuses on laser marking on glass products, micro structures in glass using laser technology, and glass sensors for plausibility assessments; and AFT-Automation & Feinwerktechnik GmbH in Ölbronn-Dürrn that produces the assembly and handling systems for micro assembly. Captions: ACI_ecoContact_Achssystem mit Dispensköpfen: In the dispensing module of ecoContact, the conductive adhesive is applied using two dispensing heads at speeds of between 40 and 70 mm per seconds with continuous monitoring of the needles. ACI_ecoContact_ Querkontaktierung In longitudinal and lateral contacting, the bus bar is applied using reels holding up to 380 mm of material – minimising downtime due to changeovers. The bus bar is fixed using small pieces of adhesive tape until the adhesive cures in the laminator. This approach enables annual cost savings of up to 100,000 Euros a year, as well as a significant increase in system availability. ACI_ecoContact_Lötmodul The bus bars are connected via an automatic soldering process, and their ends turned upwards or downward in accordance with the customer’s specifications. --We would be extremely grateful to receive a copy of any publication featuring content from this release. Contact for editorial departments: SCHULZ. PRESSE. TEXT. Doris Schulz Martin-Luther-Strasse 39 70825 Korntal / Germany Phone +49 (0)711 854085 Fax +49 (0)711 815895 ds@pressetextschulz.de ACI-ecotec GmbH & Co. KG Daniel Declercq Bahnhofstrasse 10 78112 St. Georgen / Germany Phone +49 (0)7724 934-127 Fax +49 (0)7724 934-149 d.declercq@aci-ecotec.de www.aci-ecotec.com ---