blue conveyor system for solar module manufacturer

Project 01

Solar modules easily moved

Delivery period: August 2009

Sunfilm AG, a major manufacturer of thin-film solar modules based in Großröhrsdorf, Germany, commissioned an ALFOTEC conveyor system in November 2009, which temporarily stores the front and back glass of solar modules and provides them to production just-in-time.

The system designed by Alfotec GmbH, Wermelskirchen – already the second system of this kind delivered to Sunfilm – consists essentially of two parallel four-strand chain conveyor systems. Self-supporting load carriers serve as carrier elements for the front and back glass of the solar modules, which ensure safe transport. Each of the 2,850 mm x 900 mm x 2,900 mm large load carriers has a total carrying capacity of 4,400 kg.

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Clients

Features

Conveying Elements: Strand conveyor
Convey Goods: Steel frames for flat glass panels - 4
400 kg (total load per element 22
000 kg max.)
Industry: Manufacturer of solar modules

History of the material to be conveyed

Coming from the goods receiving area, the filled load carriers are placed on one of the two conveyors by a reach truck. In order to ensure that the system is ready for operation and that no persons are present, the system is released beforehand by the forklift driver via a radio remote control. The correct depositing position for a load carrier is indicated to the forklift driver via light barriers and light scanners or by a green signal light. If the first load carrier is correctly positioned, it is continued over a length of about 1,000 mm. The second load carrier is then placed on top and pre-cycled.

This is repeated until a block consisting of five charge carriers is complete. This block is now transported – controlled by the mobile remote control of the forklift driver – to the end of the conveyor section or to the last free conveyor element. There the load carriers are removed by reach trucks and transported to the assembly stations for further processing. Here too, a traffic light signals whether the load carrier to be removed is correctly positioned.

The entire plant, which is about 26 m long and about 6 m wide, is based on 11 standard chain conveyors of the KF series from the Alfotec delivery program. Since five load carriers arranged one behind the other result in a total load of 22,000 kg per conveyor, the load-bearing and drive elements are designed to be correspondingly robust and resilient. Not only are the load carriers each supported by four heavy-duty 1-inch duplex chains, but the drives of each conveyor system are also correspondingly powerful at 7.5 kW.

The control system, also supplied by Alfotec, includes all necessary control and function-relevant elements, wired up to the terminal strip. For this purpose, covered steel cable ducts with cable protection were installed on the hall floor in the area of the conveyor system. As safety measures, the entrance and exit areas, among other things, were each provided with impact protection for the forklift trucks. In addition, the entire facility is secured against unauthorized access with a protective fence or light grids.

Funding procedure

The block accumulation takes place with 5 racks each (one block). The first frame is placed on the chain conveyor and then conveyed one cycle (approx. 1,000 mm). The 2nd frame is put on and pre-cycled, this process is repeated until the 5th frame (block) is reached. If a block is complete, it is conveyed to the end of the line or to the last free conveyor element. A 4-strand chain conveyor with 1 inch duplex chain is used for conveying. The chain conveyors are designed for the operation of transport racks.

You can see further details in the video further up on this page.

Scope of delivery

Adaptation of the software and extension of the user interface of the plant control
Installation detection by means of light sensor and green signal lamp
Ram protection with separate recesses for the forklift forks in the feeding area
All cable ducts with covers

Remote controls (2x transmitter ORBIT, 1x receiver FSE508) from HBC Radiomatic GmbH are used.