Evergreen Solar manufactures photovoltaic modules for residential and commercial use. Production of solar cells is based on a process for growing crystalline silicon strips, a technology known as “string ribbon.” The strips are rough cut into 6-foot lengths with a scribing pen and then laser cut into 6-inch-long, P-type wafers.
“Our overriding concern is to ensure precision and quality during manufacturing — to do this we have custom-designed automated equipment stations on our production line,” says Randy Rotermund, Director of Supply Chain Management for Evergreen.
For instance, each wire strip requires an exact amount of solder paste to be deposited in three locations. The amount of solder paste deposited for each dot must be 50 mils, and this must be consistent from dot to dot.
| We use the LDS-9000 in our stations because once it’s calibrated, the control unit automatically calculates the distance the piston must travel for the volume of solder paste required. The dispensing operation is the same each time, regardless of the viscosity. After a dot of solder paste is dispensed, a programmable pullback of the piston prevents fluid ooze.
“In our opinion, the Fishman dispenser overcomes the drawbacks of a pneumatic system. We have also minimized our material and operating costs including less waste, almost no rejects and less downtime in switching out syringes. We figure our costs are 70 percent less than what we would be paying with pneumatic dispensers,” says Rotermund.
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