Sensor Film aids quality control in solar module manufacture.
Press Release Summary:
Revealing pressure magnitude and distribution between any two contacting or mating surfaces, from 2-43,000 psi, Mylar-based Pressurex® Sensor Film helps verify adequate frame-to-module edge sealing. Placed at interface of 2 contacting surfaces, film permanently captures force applied during lamination press by changing color. Film offers solution for quality control checks during equipment setup, calibration, as well as re-qualification of solar module production line.
Original Press Release:
Pressurex® Sensor Film Provides Optimum Calibration and Quality Control for Solar Module Manufacturing
Tactile pressure indicating film provides a simple cost-effective method for process control and monitoring of solar module production equipment
(Madison, NJ, USA) - March 31, 2009 -- Sensor Products Inc. introduces Pressurex®, a surface pressure indicating film that reveals pressure magnitude and distribution between any two contacting or mating surfaces. In the Photovoltaics industry, the need to reduce peripheral cracks on solar cells has received much attention. Thin film modules of CDTE or CIGS on glass or flexible substrates are particularly susceptible to moisture ingress and require stringent quality control checks. Pressurex® surface pressure indicating film directly fits this bill by providing a low-cost solution for quality control checks during equipment setup, calibration, as well as re-qualification of a solar module production line. Pressurex® assures proper pressure magnitude to cause polymerization and securely bond multiple layers together during EVA and PVB lamination. Negative occurrences such as cracked substrates, squeeze out of materials from the module, and unwanted encapsulant thickness can be reduced, if not eliminated, by optimizing the quantity of applied pressure. To ensure pressure is evenly distributed over the entire module during the press cycle, Pressurex ® pressure indicating film can be inserted into the assembled module layup stack and a "pressure map" control sample can be created and used for process control.
During the frame press stage, Pressurex® sensor film helps verify adequate frame-to-module edge sealing. This unique Mylar-based sensor film reveals surface pressure from 2 - 43,000 PSI (0.14 - 3,000 kg/cm²). Pressurex® film is placed at the interface of two contacting surfaces. When these surfaces are compressed together (as in a lamination press) they apply a force to the sensor film. The film captures this applied force permanently and irreversibly by virtue of its changing color. Intensity of the color change is proportional to the amount of pressure applied, allowing for precise determination of pressure magnitude by comparing the resultant sensor film's color to a color calibration reference chart.
About Sensor Products Inc. (USA)
Headquartered in New Jersey and established in 1990, Sensor Products Inc. is a world leader in the manufacture and distribution of tactile pressure indicating solutions. Their customized and off-the-shelf products are installed within all of the Fortune 500 industrial companies as well as thousands of smaller manufacturing firms. Their sensors are used in applications as diverse as tire testing to semiconductor manufacturing and from R&D labs to space missions. Additionally, Sensor Products Inc. provides in-house and on-site stress and pressure mapping analysis and consulting, as well as a variety of regional technical seminars. Visit them at www.sensorprod.com
To request a sample of pressure-indicating film in a range appropriate for your application and equipment, contact
Sensor Products Inc.
at 973.884.1755 (USA),
email info@sensorprod.com
or visit sensorprod.com/sample.
