"The IV inspection efficiency of photovoltaic cells is low, the missed detection rate of EL defects exceeds 5%, and the power attenuation of the modules exceeds 8%." "Manual sorting has large errors and slow speed. A single production line requires 12 sorters, with an annual labor cost of over 900,000 yuan." "The inspection data is isolated and cannot be traced throughout the entire life cycle of the cells. The persistently high rate of customer complaints - In the mass production of photovoltaic cells, the pain points of "incomplete testing, low sorting efficiency, high cost, and data discontinuity" have once plunged countless photovoltaic enterprises into the predicament of "capacity bottleneck, unstable quality, and compressed profits".
Saifan Optoelectronics has been deeply engaged in optoelectronic detection technology for 20 years and has specifically launched the IV+EL battery automatic sorting machine. With the three core advantages of "dual integration of IV electrical performance detection and EL defect detection + AI intelligent automatic sorting", it perfectly meets the efficient detection and precise sorting requirements of photovoltaic cell mass production. Today, this "photovoltaic cell quality screening tool" has served over 220 photovoltaic enterprises worldwide, increasing the efficiency of cell inspection by five times, with a defect omission rate of no more than 0.3%, and reducing the labor cost of a single production line by 80%. It has become the "core quality inspection equipment" for photovoltaic mass production lines.
1. Mass production inspection of photovoltaic cells: The integration of IV and EL dual inspections has reduced the defect missed detection rate to 0.3%
Mr. Zhang, the production director of a leading photovoltaic enterprise, was once extremely troubled by the problem of battery cell testing We mass-produce large-sized battery cells of 166, 182 and 210mm. Traditional inspection equipment either only measures IV electrical performance or requires a separate process for EL defect detection. This not only leads to low inspection efficiency (taking ≥8 seconds for a single cell), but also results in missed defect detection issues - hidden defects such as hidden cracks, broken grids and false soldering have not been detected. This led to a power attenuation of over 8% after component packaging, a customer return rate of 6%, and a loss of over 5 million yuan per batch. What's more troublesome is that the data from the two inspection processes are isolated and cannot be analyzed in a linked manner, making it difficult to trace the quality.
After the introduction of the Saifan IV+EL battery automatic sorter, the detection efficiency and accuracy have achieved a "double leap". The core highlight of this equipment is the synchronous integration of IV and EL dual inspection - it adopts a high-resolution EL imaging module and a high-precision IV testing unit. The inspection time for a single piece is only 1.5 seconds, which is five times more efficient than traditional equipment. The daily inspection volume of a single production line has been increased from 50,000 pieces to 250,000 pieces. The IV detection stage precisely measures core electrical parameters such as open-circuit voltage, short-circuit current, and fill factor, with an error of no more than ±0.5%. The EL inspection process is equipped with a 50-megapixel high-definition camera and an AI defect recognition algorithm, which can automatically identify 12 types of defects such as hidden cracks, broken grids, false soldering, and black cores. The defect recognition accuracy rate is ≥99.7%, and the missed detection rate is ≤0.3%.
"Now the power attenuation of the components is controlled within 2%, the customer return rate has dropped from 6% to 0.8%, and the loss per batch has been reduced by 4.5 million." " Engineer Zhang introduced that the equipment is compatible with full-size battery cells ranging from 166 to 210mm, without the need to change fixtures. The model change time is no more than 10 minutes, making it suitable for mass production of multiple specifications. More importantly, the dual inspection data are linked in real time. Each battery cell generates a unique "identity code", and the electrical performance parameters are bound and archived with defect information, achieving full life cycle traceability from production to packaging. "Previously, it was impossible to locate the root cause of customer complaints. Now, through the traceability code, the inspection data can be quickly queried, and customer satisfaction has increased to 98%."
2. Intelligent automatic sorting: AI grading + unmanned operation, saving 10 workers on a single production line
Mr. Li, the quality inspection manager of a certain photovoltaic module manufacturer, once encountered an "efficiency bottleneck" in manual sorting: After traditional inspection, 12 workers are required to manually sort the cells and grade them based on electrical performance parameters and appearance defects. This not only slows down the process (with no more than 800 cells sorted per person per hour), but also involves human error - the grading deviation of the same batch of cells exceeds 3%, resulting in poor power consistency of the components and affecting the product premium. What is even more worrying is that labor costs have been rising year by year. The annual labor cost for a single production line exceeds 900,000 yuan, and the problems of difficulty in recruitment and management are prominent.
The "intelligent sorting" function of the Saifan IV+EL battery automatic sorting machine precisely resolves the human resource predicament. The equipment is equipped with an AI intelligent grading algorithm, which can customize grading standards according to customer needs (supporting 1-10 levels of sorting), and automatically perform precise grading based on IV electrical performance parameters (power, efficiency) and EL defect grades. The grading accuracy rate is ≥99.5%, and the batch consistency deviation is ≤0.8%. Meanwhile, it is equipped with high-speed sorting robotic arms, with a sorting speed of up to 4,000 pieces per hour, achieving fully unmanned operation throughout the "inspection - grading - material feeding" process. Only two maintenance personnel are needed for each production line, reducing labor costs by 80%.
"Now, the annual labor cost for a single production line has dropped from 900,000 yuan to 180,000 yuan, saving 720,000 yuan a year. The equipment investment can be recovered within three years." " Engineer Li did a detailed calculation: "The misjudgment rate of traditional manual sorting is 3%, with an annual loss of over 3 million yuan." The misjudgment rate of intelligent sorting is ≤0.5%, reducing annual losses by 2.75 million. Moreover, the equipment operates continuously for 24 hours without any fatigue, generating 15% more output than manual sorting and increasing the annual output value by over 20 million yuan. The intelligent early warning function of the equipment is more practical: "When the defect rate of a certain batch exceeds the standard, the equipment will issue a real-time alarm and coordinate with the previous process to adjust the parameters, avoiding batch defects in advance and making quality control more proactive."
Iii. Large-sized Battery Cell Adaptation: High stability + compatible design, meeting the demands of efficient mass production
Mr. Wang, the technical manager of a certain new energy photovoltaic enterprise, was once worried about the testing and adaptation of large-sized solar cells: "We mainly focus on 210mm large-sized high-efficiency solar cells. When using traditional equipment for testing, there are problems such as blurred edge imaging and poor contact in electrical performance testing, which lead to distorted testing data and a deviation of over 4% in the assessment of the yield rate." Moreover, the equipment vibrates greatly during operation. After long-term use, the accuracy drifts significantly. The production line needs to be shut down for two days every month for calibration, resulting in a production capacity loss of over one million.
The customized design of the Saifan IV+EL battery automatic sorting machine perfectly meets the requirements of large sizes. The equipment adopts a high-rigidity body structure and a precise positioning platform, and is equipped with an adaptive contact test probe to ensure uniform contact pressure between the edge and the center of the 210mm large-sized battery cells (pressure fluctuation ≤±0.1N), and the electrical performance test data is stable and reliable. The EL imaging module adopts a dual-sided light source + wide-angle lens design, with an imaging range covering full-size battery cells. The clarity of edge imaging is consistent with that of the center, and there are no blind spots in defect identification.
Core performance is more powerful: The accuracy drift of the equipment after continuous operation for 720 hours is ≤±0.3%, no frequent calibration is required, the annual shutdown calibration time is ≤8 hours, and the production capacity loss is reduced by 90%. It supports compatibility with multiple sizes of battery cells such as 166, 182, and 210mm, and can reserve upgrade space according to future larger size requirements. Previously, the cost of importing double-inspection equipment was 8 million yuan, and the delivery period was 8 months. The customized version of Saifan saved 4 million yuan, with delivery within 45 days. It also offers on-site installation, commissioning and operation training, allowing workers to quickly get the hang of it. Engineer Wang praised, "Now the yield rate of large-sized battery cells has risen from 92% to 97.5%, and the annual new production capacity exceeds 30 million pieces."
Iv. Core Technology Unveiling: Why Can It Balance "Efficiency" and "Precision"?
The core competitiveness of the Saifan IV+EL battery automatic sorter stems from four breakthrough technologies:
Dual-inspection synchronous fusion technology: Independently developed IV-EL synchronous trigger module, enabling simultaneous electrical performance testing and defect imaging. The single-piece inspection takes only 1.5 seconds, which is five times more efficient than traditional equipment.
AI intelligent defect recognition algorithm: Trained on over 10 million defect samples, it can automatically identify 12 types of battery cell defects, with a recognition accuracy rate of ≥99.7%. It supports custom addition of defect types and algorithm iterative upgrades.
High-precision IV test unit: It adopts imported precision electronic load and voltage and current acquisition module, with a sampling rate of 1MHz, and the electrical parameter test error is ≤±0.5%, meeting the IEC 60904-1 standard.
High-stability sorting mechanism: Equipped with a sorting mechanical arm driven by a servo motor and a ball screw, the positioning accuracy is ≤±0.1mm, and the sorting speed reaches 4000 pieces per hour, ensuring precise and error-free grading.
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