Laminator
What does our lamination process
consist of?
The lamination process consists of sealing all the interlayers inside the panel.
The correct lamination process renders a better product in terms of quality and longevity.
It guarantees absence of:
- Bubbles
- Broken cells
- Delamination
- Premature aging
In order to avoid one of the factors that affects the PV panel’s performance over the long run, which is humidity penetration, it is fundamental to achieve strong adherance throughout the panel, as well as a strong seal around the edges of the panel, ensured by a good level of crosslinking or curing of the encapsulant material.
The process consists of the following phases:
| 1. | Evacuation of air located between the various layers |
| 2. | Heating and melting of the encapsulant |
| 3. | Sealing of the edges by application of pressure |
| 4. | Keeping the temperature at a set point for a certain length of time while applying pressuressure |
| 5. | Cooling while applying pressure |
Point 4 consists of temperatures and times that are dictated by the type of encapsulant material used.
The first four steps are usually carried out inside a vacuum laminator. The time dedicated to these steps determines the “cycle time”.
ROBOSTAK
LAMINATOR
Thomas Jefferson used to say
“If you want something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done”.
Inspired by this philosophy, the Teknisolar team has invested thirteen years in research and development to develop a system which is totally different from the competitor laminators, and that concretely solves all the most recurring problems that solar panel manufacturers attribute to the lamination process, allowing a noteworthy increase in productivity.
The membrane-less laminator
with the fastest-cycle time in the world
Quite all laminators on the market are equipped with a membrane, which exerts pressure on the panel by means of applying different chamber pressures below and above the membrane. In addition, they heat the solar panels only from below.
Robostak is a membrane-less technology that allows increasing the quality and productivity thanks to three factors:
Traditional Lamination
The traditional technology used presents a series of issues, especially for Glass-glass solar panels.
Long cycle times
due to slow evacuation and slow heating processes where pins are used to avoid allowing the module to come into contact with the one-sided heating system
Outflow of encapsulant
material which leaves residue on the internal surfaces of the laminator, thus requiring a cleaning system
Edge pinch
As glass tends to return to its original flatness over time, edge pinch can be the direct cause of delamination of glass-glass solar panels.
Non-homogeneous heating of the modules due to warping
Traditional laminators heat only from the bottom side of the modules. This means that the module is slightly warped from uneven thermal radiation, even if it is lifted by pins to avoid severe warping.
Shifting of glass panes and/or breakage
As the diaphragm exerts pressure that is not perfectly perpendicular to the module in all areas of the module, it can cause glass panes to shift and even fracture around the edges.
In a traditional laminator, in order to halve the cycle time and double the productivity, the three stages of the lamination process (vacuum, heat and pressure) happen in the first laminatior, but the fourth stage, which means the cross-linking which is the longest stage will take place in a second laminator
The time spent in the first laminator is called cycle time.
Teknisolar Laminator
Teknisolar revolutionary technology has spilt the process into 6 steps
Cicle time: 120 seconds
Therefore, if the panel requires 12 minutes in the hot process the Teknisolar lamination line guarantees throughput of one load every 120 seconds.
– 120 seconds for de-airing and edge sealing (step 1)
– 600 seconds for crosslinking (steps 2-6)
– 120 seconds for controlled cooling
Teknisolar is able to guarantee cycle times ranging from 110 to 200 seconds, depending on the panel to be laminated.
Standard single stage LAM
Vs
Robostak LAM
| Standard LAM | ROBOSTAK LAM | |
|---|---|---|
| CYCLE TIME | 12 min | 2 min |
| PINS | YES | NO |
| MEMBRANE | YES | NO |
| THROUGHPUT | X1 | X6 |
| HEATING | Only Below | Above and Below |
Thanks to
Fully automatic line
High uptime
Low energy consumption
Very low use of consumable materials
No edge tape, moulds or corners needed around glass glass module edges to mitigate encapsulant outflow and glass breakage
Small and flexible footprint
No belt cleaning required
Lower cost of ownership
With an installed capacity of 500 MW, Teknisolar laminators will save your company up to 5 million Euros over 7 years.
FLEXIBLE
UNSTOPPABLE
The membrane-less laminator
with the fastest-cycle time in the world
Super fast vacuum
Double heated platens
Multi-stage crosslinking
No membrane
CHARACTERISTICS
| Touchscreen HMI | |
| Fully automatic laminator | |
| Totally customizable | |
| Patented membraneless system | |
| Cooling system ambient air fans or optional cooling plates | |
| Suitable for all types of encapsulants and all types of panels(Glass-Backsheet, Glass-Glass, Smart-wire, HJT, Thin-film, BIPV modules and more) without adding extra tools, just by changing the parameters | |
| Uptime | > 97% |
| Process optimisation support | |
| Hassle-free belt tracking system | |
| Remote assistance and AFTER-SALES SUPPORT | |
| Patented vacuum system Reaches deaeration level in record time | |
| Patented crosslinking section that guarantees extreme high gel content | |
| Both sides heating Perfectly uniform and fast heating from both sides | |
| Low energy consumption per MW of production | |
| No pins required counterproductive to the system | |
| Electrical heating |
Touchscreen HMI
Fully automatic laminator
Totally customizable
Patented membraneless system
Cooling system
ambient air fans or optional cooling plates
Suitable
for all types of encapsulants and all types of panels(Glass-Backsheet, Glass-Glass, Smart-wire, HJT, Thin-film, BIPV modules and more) without adding extra tools, just by changing the parameters
Uptime > 97%
Process optimisation support
Hassle-free belt tracking system
Remote assistance
and AFTER-SALES SUPPORT
Patented vacuum system
Reaches deaeration level in record time
Patented crosslinking section
that guarantees extreme high gel content
Both sides heating
Perfectly uniform and fast heating from both sides
Low energy consumption
per MW of production
No pins required
counterproductive to the system
