This project will allow SOLARWATT to increase its production capacity by 150 MWp.
Both Frank Schneider, chief executive officer of Solarwatt, and Alan Macdonald, managing director of the S-TEC division of KUKA agree that “the precision of the automotive industry is finding its way into photovoltaics.” “The plant will operate in three shifts and produce one solar module every 28 seconds – in the proven SOLARWATT quality,” emphasizes Schneider.
Despite the financial crisis, the two companies foresee a further increase in the demand for solar modules, since solar power is now more attractive than ever following the sharp fall in the price of silicon, cells and modules. At the same time as this expansion of production capacity, Solarwatt is investing in a logistics facility.
KUKA is supplying the production equipment for the manufac-turing process line: automated modules for glass destacking and washing, film application, string layup and cross-soldering station, lamination, framing, performance testing, sorting and packing. The system also includes the complete conveyor equipment and control technology. As well as a total of 29 KUKA industrial robots, KUKA automation solutions such as ROBO FRAME, ROBO TRIMM and ROBO LOAD are also employed.
KUKA Systems, member of the KUKA Aktiengesellschaft, is an international supplier of flexible robotbased automation systems for the automotive, aerospace, energy and general industries.
