Your daily dose of photovoltaic technology developments and solar news

Product Briefing Outline: Fluid control specialist, Horiba, has introduced a new range of mass flow controllers (MFC) competitively priced to fit the economic and production needs of the photovoltaic manufacturing sector. Manufactured in Japan, under strict quality conditions by HoribaStec, the SEC-N100 Series digital mass flow controller reliably controls the flow of process gases and cleaning gases. Multigas and multirange functions allow the user to configure the desired gas and flow range to increase flexibility and reduce overall costs, for example by decreasing flow controller inventory. Dedicated software makes this easy to do without removing the mass flow controller from the gas panel.

Product Briefing Outline: Vistrian has released version 5.0 of their ‘FactoryLOOK’ software platform. FactoryLOOK is a Manufacturing Intelligence System used by a number of companies including manufacturers of Solar, Semiconductor, Led, Data Storage, Networking, and Electronic assembly. The software allows for the immediate alerting and identifying of process anomalies and the ability to quickly identify factors affecting the development or manufacturing process and its variables.

Product Briefing Outline: Shuttleworth has introduced a new line of products for thin-film and crystalline solar panel handling. The company's new ‘Rotary Turntable’ can be located anywhere in the manufacturing process where the product must be rotated to maintain the proper orientation.

Product Briefing Outline: Camstar Systems has released ‘Camstar Enterprise Platform’ Version 4.5 for general availability. Enhancements in version 4.5 - driven in collaboration with leading manufacturers using the Platform - include expanded enterprise-caliber capabilities for global enterprises with multiple manufacturing locations and outsourced operations. Version 4.5 augments the Platform’s configurability and usability to allow users to quickly adopt the solution with minimal training – even where complex manufacturing and quality processes span discrete, batch and hybrid operations.

Product Briefing Outline: Swagelok Company has unveiled a new process specification designed to meet the needs of the photovoltaic market, aimed at helping ensure quality and reduce cost of ownership for the industry. The Swagelok Photovoltaic Process Specification (SC-06) outlines testing, cleaning, and packaging steps for stainless steel components for use in PV applications.

Unlike news stories, which generally have a short lifespan, but higher visitor levels, new product reviews can often prove popular for several months or more. Excluding the PV-Tech homepage, the Product Briefings section is the fourth most visited section of the site in 2009.  In collating the Top 10 new product reviews of 2009, many product reviews in particular stood out for having an extremely long shelf-life that with some started in 2008, yet continued to attract readers throughout the year.

Product Briefing Outline: Morgan Technical Ceramics is offering its fused silica rollers for use in solar energy applications from its manufacturing site in Fairfield, New Jersey, USA. Traditionally used for handling sheet glass for automobiles, appliances and architectural applications, fused silica rollers are now being used in the manufacture of solar cells and modules. Their mechanical properties and special surface quality make them ideal for use in both diffusion and thin-film processing of solar panels.

Product Briefing Outline: EBARA Precision Machinery Europe provides a full scope of Dry Vacuum Pumps and Gas Abatement Systems and combines them to customized solutions for the PV industry. EBARA can handle requirements for silicon wafer and thin film. The company also offers project planning, system engineering, installation, maintenance, consulting and training, incorporated in a worldwide support network at the major PV industry sites.

Product Briefing Outline: Heateflex offers heated tanks that are used in the solar cell texturing process. Using the patented ‘Heateflex’ heating coil and laminar flow design, this tank provides uniform heating during the texturing process. The modular design provides ease of maintenance, while the tank itself allows for removal of nuisance bubbles common to other heating methods.