Centrotherm Expands Manufacturing Options

With the introduction of ingot squaring and brick cropping equipment, centrotherm SiTec GmbH is expanding its range of products to include two key equipment items for integrated ingot and wafer production. The automated ingot squaring equipment saws the multi-crystalline ingots into bricks. The brick cropping equipment cuts these bricks to precise corresponding lengths. Wafers are later produced from these bricks. Both key equipment from centrotherm SiTec, a company in which the centrotherm photovoltaics Group bundles its silicon expertise, deploy diamond wire saw technology. 

An ingot squaring equipment is set up for an annual capacity of up to 4,400 ingots, corresponding to annual production of around 110,000 bricks. The brick cropping equipment that operates two bricks in parallel reaches an annual capacity of around 40,000 bricks. Compared with the conventional slurry process, the particular strengths of these equipments include significantly higher production throughput, fully automated working processes, short loading and unloading times, and low space requirements thanks to their compact design and construction. The slurry process utilizes a mixture of liquid and silicon carbide to cut ingots and bricks. 

"We are pleased with the strong interest in both of these equipments, which we presented to the global public for the first time at the Intersolar trade fair", commented Dr. Albrecht Mozer, Managing Director of centrotherm SiTec, a wholly-owned subsidiary of centrotherm photovoltaics AG. "Our customers and other interested parties were impressed by their excellent technology, their high throughput, product quality and - a factor that is especially important in an intensely competitive market - low operating costs. With the market launch of this new saw technology, centrotherm SiTec is expanding its product portfolio to include a significant element towards its position as a complete provider for the solar value chain." The annual sales potential for both equipments amounts to a double-digit amount in millions of euros.