Case studies
Innovating and automating
large-scale manufacture
Candela Instruments had proven their optical surface scanning technology on a manually loaded machine, but expanding to full production required a fully automated, in-line system. The automation had to…
The final drying step in HDD media manufacturing used a patented Marangoni process, which requires passing disks through an IPA-based drying interface. Automating this step demanded precise batch handling…
The client needed to scale up the back end of their thin film PV cell processing line with full automation. The process required flattening the curved cells from the original roll, electrically testing…
The furnace OEM needed to meet a customer demand for higher throughput and lower cost of ownership by automating the quartz boat load/unload process. The project required completion in just 14 weeks. Integration…
Handle delicate, flexible substrates at high speed with precision
A leading thin film solar photovoltaic startup was experiencing machine jams, damaged carriers, and yield loss on multiple carrier transfer systems used across their production line. Transferring 48 tubes…
PV cell efficiency testing is critical for both manufacturing process control and downstream panel assembly. The customer needed to automate flash-based I-V testing without compromising strict industry…
The client needed to meet a line throughput of 7,200 PV cells per hour. Handling fragile cells required careful automation, while fully automated cassette exchange interfacing with factory systems was…
The fragile PV cells required high-speed handling, inspection, and precise placement into custom carriers. Vision systems were needed at both input and output to detect defects and provide positional feedback….
A fully automated CIGS line faced a severe bottleneck in a custom in-house system, threatening the ramp-up schedule. Proprietary equipment designs sometimes fail to meet manufacturing requirements, and…
The client needed to move a lab-proven wafer PV process into a high-throughput, production-ready machine for deployment in one of the world’s largest PV factories. Key challenges included maintaining…
The client needed to convert a lab-demonstrated wafer PV process into a production-ready machine for deployment in one of the world’s largest PV factories. The system had to achieve high throughput while…