Solar energy / photovoltaics 

• Increase in energy efficiency
• New manufacturing methods and materials for solar cells and modules
• High quality expectations from customers
• World-wide supply of individual components
• Warranty obligations

As solar energy is seen as one of the most important sources of energy of the future, modern solar module manufacturers are being confronted with ever increasing expectations regarding quality as well as rapidly shifting requirements.

Efficient, profitable, high-quality, robust (resistant to weather conditions) and at the same time inexpensive – the requirements for solar cells are high. The production of photovoltaic modules must also become more efficient and production cycles shortened.

Many leading solar module manufacturers are already using standard MES software today, especially in phases 2 and 3 of production. The classic MES topics of traceability, quality management and error avoidance play an important role.

High-quality voltaic modules are produced in highly automated production plants. The voltaic production chain, from silicon through to the finished solar module, includes 3 phases:

1. Wafer production
2. Cell finishing/ cell production
3. Module production

In phase 2 (cell finishing) the produced solar cells are captured in material lots. Between 100 and 140 solar cells are collected, serial-numbered and finally sent to the module production in stack boxes.

If a fault occurs on a cell, it is possible to determine at any time from which lot the faulty cell has come, even after the finished module has been installed. If necessary all other cells from the lot are checked or exchanged (traceability).

The module production (phase 3) is completely serialized, i.e. each individual photovoltaic module receives a serial number. In this way, it is always possible to trace which cells came from which supplier (material lot).

With the standardized, platform-independent iTAC.MES.Suite

• continuous transparency of working and production processes across all suppliers (serial-numbered products / lot information) is possible.
• there is a clear increase in quality (minimizing faults and scrap).
• processes can be optimized and costs reduced.

As there have been only a few manufacturers up to now who have carried out the whole production process at one location, it makes sense to set up a central, manufacturing-oriented IT infrastructure with support from MES software for the world-wide process of creating value.

Crystalline solar modules – thin-layer modules – tandem modules – the photovoltaic industry is constantly working to maximize energy efficiency.

For module manufacturers this means that new procedures and machines can be used within a short cycle. The scalability of the iTAC.MES.Suite is a valuable tool here: platform-independent, downward-compatible machine interfaces enable simple integration at any time despite changing demands.