Dresden, Germany-based crystalline solar module manufacturer Solarwatt AG will receive an automated assembly line from KUKA Systems GmbH. The line will occupy a production area of 3,800 square meters and will allow Solarwatt to increase its production capacity by 150 MW, according to the companies.

"The plant will operate in three shifts and produce one solar module every 28 seconds," notes Dr. Frank Schneider, CEO of Solarwatt AG.

KUKA Systems will supply the assembly line for the manufacturing process line: automated modules for glass destacking and washing, film application, string layup and cross-soldering station, lamination, framing, performance testing, sorting and packing. The system also includes the complete conveyor equipment and control technology, as well as a total of 29 KUKA industrial robots.

In addition to supplying and installing the components, KUKA Systems will be responsible for the turnkey commissioning of the complete line, including the start of production, in the first half of 2010.