Laser via drilling solar modules is cost-efficient and flexible

Alsdorf, Germany - The increasing use of glass/glass modules in photovoltaic (PV) applications requires the creation of holes for bus bar wires and junction boxes in cover or substrate glass sheets. Depending on the module design, several holes in different locations of a sheet may be required.

4JET Technologies GmbH has introduced the GDSflex system for laser drilling via holes in glass substrates for c-Si photovoltaic modules. Several of these new systems have been ordered by a major glass supplier in Asia.

The new system allows inline processing of glass panels in a fully automated and highly flexible setup: Holes of different diameters can be positioned in any quantity anywhere on the glass sheet without retooling. The machine is designed to work with typical glass module sizes and thicknesses.

As opposed to conventional mechanical processes, laser drilling provides a touchless and dry process. Post processing of the hole edges is not required. Regular float and semi-tempered glass can be processed with the 4JET system. Besides applications in PV, this system is also well suited to drill holes in glass sheets for glazing and automotive applications.