A robotic system was developed that automated the assembly processes for the manufacturing of photovoltaic solar cell. The primary processes automated include pre-tinning of copper leads, mechanical assembly of the cells, and soldering of the leads using hot bar reflow. The system includes two (2) SCARA robots (AdeptOne and IBM 7547), Bosch pallet conveyor, custom process stations for pre-tinning and hot bar, and custom end effectors on quick change tooling. The system reduced manufacturing costs by 50% increased production capacity by 100% over manual processes.
