Systems for precision application of conductive adhesive paste on photovoltaic structures

A system for manufacturing a solar panel that comprises cascaded photovoltaic structures, the system comprising:

• a conveyor configured to move to-be-stacked photovoltaic structures, wherein a first surface, facing away from the conveyor, of a first photovoltaic structure includes a first busbar, wherein the conveyor has a moving direction aligned along the first busbar;
• and
• a paste-dispensing module configured to dispense a plurality of droplets of conductive paste in a line of droplets on top of the first busbar, wherein dispensed conductive paste is configured to facilitate bonding between the first busbar and a second busbar on a second photovoltaic structure so that when bonded a portion of the first photovoltaic structure including the first busbar overlaps a portion of the second photovoltaic structure including the second busbar with the line of droplets of conductive paste located between the first and second busbars, wherein the paste-dispensing module is configured to dispense the droplets in the line of droplets to be sized and spaced apart from adjacent droplets in the line of droplets so that after being bonded the droplets do not overlap with adjacent droplets in the line of droplets, and wherein the paste-dispensing module comprises:
• a cartridge configured to hold the conductive paste;
• a jet dispenser coupled to the cartridge, wherein the jet dispenser is configured to dispense a predetermined amount of the conductive paste for each droplet via a nozzle on the first busbar;
• and
• a robotic arm coupled to the jet dispenser, wherein the robotic arm is configured to adjust a position of the jet dispenser, thereby facilitating alignment between the jet dispenser and the first busbar;
• and
• a vision module configured to detect locations of the first busbar and output detected locations of the first busbar to a controller of the robotic arm to instruct the robotic arm to adjust the position of the jet dispenser relative to the conveyor while the first photovoltaic structure is being moved on the conveyor past the jet dispenser in order for the line of droplets to be dispensed in a straight line along a longitudinal direction of the first busbar aligned to the moving direction of the conveyor,
• wherein the robotic arm coupled to the jet dispenser has three degrees of freedom and the robotic arm is configured to be controlled with a feedback loop which measures a location of the robotic arm and sends location information to the controller of the robotic arm, and
• wherein the system includes actuators configured to move the robotic arm.