PV module stringer specialist, teamtechnik said it had reduced cell-to-cell soldering cycle-times to below 2.25 second, boosting overall throughput of its single-track TT1600 stringer system to an annual output of 45MWp, inline with dual stringer systems, according to the company.
Teamtechnik said it would be providing live demonstration’s of the system at SNEC 2014, being held in Shanghai in late May and probably the most important trade show for equipment and materials suppliers to the PV industry as Asia dominates PV manufacturing.
“We have yet [again] improved the performance of our system by another 200 cycles, giving a cycle time of less than 2.25 seconds,” said Axel Riethmüller, executive vice president solar technology at the teamtechnik Group. With 1600 cycles per hour on one track and with a reliable 24/7 production, the Stringer TT1600 guarantees output at a level that has never been achieved before, teamtechnik claimed.
China-based PV module manufacturers ordered over 50 tools from teamtechnik in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to the company.
“Only systems with dual soldering lines reach these speeds. We lead the world with our single-track system. This holds true for the speed of the systems and their availability,” added Riethmüller. “The production of solar cell strings on just one track increases the throughput on each soldering process. Defined and tested processes ensure that quality remains high and keep breakage rates down.”
The majority of tier-1 PV manufacturers have already announced capacity expansions to meet growing demand for 2014, primarily adding module assembly capacity and increasing outsourcing of solar wafers and cells to avoid major increases in capital spending for the year.
“We can supply five stringers in a week, which is equivalent to 250MW, so our customers can have even major projects in production in just a few weeks. This applies to individual stringers and also to the 90MW complete systems which consist of two TT1600 stringers and a layup,” added Riethmüller.