Project Scope:
Precision Optical and Electrical Tester
An SDC customer in the alternative energy industry needed a flexible system to move solar panel coupons to and from three or more pre-existing testing stations at their facility.
Robotic coupon handling
Four coupon cassettes with status LED lights
6-axis FANUC LR Mate 200iD 7L
Coupon pneumatic gripper
Bar code reader
Cognex inspection camera
The Solution:
Solar panel coupons are loaded into four vertical cassette-styled stations. Individual coupons are picked from a cassette slot and placed on testing station. Coupons are precisely held in place using automatic pneumatic clamps. The status of cassettes is displayed using colored LED lights and an on-screen HMI display. Physical loading & locking, recipe assignment, completion status, and error status. A light curtain, guard door and robotic safety zones allow ‘hot’ swapping of cassettes.
The custom operating software automatically schedules the coupon handling robot to maximize coupon throughput. After coupons have completed the testing station sequence, they are placed back in the cassette.
An operator can create their own unique testing sequences. These custom recipes along with machine setup, and process/progress data are managed by a custom .NET and SQL Server database application. This allows the machine to have the flexibility to adapt to multiple testing stations if needed.
Machine Rate: 3 coupons per minute
