Making Energy Transition Sustainable at Solarge – Done Right with FabEagle®MES

Solarge makes the energy transition sustainable by bringing circular solar panels to the market in a fast and scalable way, going beyond the limits of conventional solar panels. 

Solarge and Kontron AIS have completed the installation of an MES (Manufacturing Execution System) for 100 MW PV module production together with an established supplier of turnkey PV equipment. FabEagle®MES is used for this factory in Weert. It is one of the first production lines in the Netherlands to go live with a focus on a circular solar panel design. Compared to conventional panels, the front glass and aluminum framing are replaced by polymers to enable a 50 % lighter design with a 80 % lower carbon footprint. 

The FabEagle®MES includes all functionalities to provide transparency, tracking and control of the production process to ensure quality, improve processes and save costs. Most of the relevant information is based on the data provided by the integrated shop floor equipment on a single product basis. To enable these features, the generic concepts of configurable production orders, work plans and material tracking capability were used together with features specific to solar module production, such as the support for the inspection and rework, grading and palletizing of modules.

“FabEagle®MES has been instrumental in improving our KPIs and is seamlessly integrated with our ERP. Its state-ofthe- art features as well as Kontron AIS dedication to the project are highly appreciated by our team.”
Joey Portier, Process Engineer, Solarge Productions B. V.

The FabEagle®MES with material tracking capability is part of the turnkey solution delivered to Solarge. The initial software installation of the virtualized MES server was completed in a short time. Kontron AIS engineers worked with the turnkey line vendor to specify an OPC UA interface to transfer the data needed to monitor, track and control the production processes. Factory equipment integration and on-site interface testing were performed as soon as each equipment became available with an installed MES interface. Due to the time constraints of the project plan, interface testing was not possible before the equipment was shipped from the vendor, resulting in much more time for integration and extensive collaboration with the vendor at the factory.

While equipment integration was on-going, the Solarge and Kontron AIS team worked to install and set up MES functionality to meet all defined requirements: ͧ

• Setup of MES commissioning stations for backsheets (polymer) and RFID labels. MES creates a unique Module Identity Code (Module ID), which is the basis for traceability.
• Tracking of all additional BOM (Bill of Material) items with MES scan stations. Raw material IDs are scanned at MES workstations. MES alerts, if wrong material is scanned.
• Support for inspection and rework of layups. MES tracks defect reasons.
• Evaluate module testing results for automated module grading and sorting by optical and electrical class. Grading criteria: combination of power output, defects and EL result.
• Integration of the packaging for palletizing and label printing configurable in MES. MES inputs the final bin location to the sorter robot based on the user defined configuration in MES workstation.
• ERP integration for consumption and output posting including all modules of a pallet with their grading and actual BOM information. Additionally, new items (raw materials/final products) created in the ERP are automatically transferred to the MES. 

After the MES roll-out and equipment integration, tracking and acceptance tests confirmed the system‘s production readiness. Despite challenges that arouse during the project due to late availability of equipment interfaces and deviations from initial specifications, these issues were successfully mitigated. The ongoing support from Kontron AIS, combined with the proven FabEagle®MES product and efficient collaboration with Solarge and the equipment vendor, ensured the successful completion of the project.