Mar 17 2008
Adept Technology, Inc., the leading provider of intelligent automation software for motion and vision-guided robotics systems and services, today announced that its automation software, robotics and system products have been selected by SLS Solar Line Saxony ("SLS") as standard products for their automation equipment for solar cell production. SLS was established as a joint venture between Roth & Rau AG (Hohenstein-Ernstthal) Germany and USK Karl Utz Sondermaschinen (Limbach Oberfrohna) Germany to accelerate the production of standard technology products for the manufacturer of solar cells.
Adept’s automation products which include its motion control and machine vision software as well as its Quattro robotic systems will enable SLS to standardize development and delivery of its solar production products and will be a crucial part of the assembly line for the manufacturing of crystalline silicon cells. These assembly lines will be shipped worldwide by Roth & Rau AG, a market leader in turnkey systems.
"We compared a variety of robot solutions and vetted them to our needs in the solar industry. We chose Adept and the Quattro robotic, as it enables our systems to achieve unprecedented performance," said Karsten Barth, CEO of the newly founded SLS GmbH.
"It is clear from the overwhelming acceptance we’ve seen for the Adept Quattro robots that our close work with our clients during the product design phase and subsequent integration was right on track," said John Dulchinos, president of Adept Technology, Inc. "The speed and reach advantages of the four arm Quattro design are obvious. The demand for the latest technology using vision guidance for fast, precise motion is key for manufacturers of solar wafers and solar cells, as they adopt new manufacturing equipment to maximize production throughput. This in turn allows our clients to also reduce costs of the photovoltaic components, increasing their competitiveness in the Solar market place. The Adept Quattro s650 robot is leading the way in the manufacturing of cost-effective solar cells and panels for the expanding global solar market place."
The Adept Quattro s650 robot, first introduced by Adept in 2007, using a unique four arm Parallel kinematic offers major advantages over the traditional three arm Delta style kinematic. As is the case with most other robots from Adept, the amplifiers are in the base of the robots. Since the official launch of the Adept Quattro, over 200 systems have been sold.