An industrial robot for thin‐type space solar cells bonding

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a serial produced industrial robot for thin‐type space solar cells (SSC), which is applied to perform the bonding process of SSC. Design/methodology/approach – An optimized process of adhesive coating and bonding for SSC is designed, based on an analysis of hydromechanics model. In order to perform the process, a novel robot is developed, which mainly consists of a three‐axis Cartesian coordinates' motion platform, coating‐and‐bonding device, solar cell and glass cover orientation plate, control system, pneumatic system, constant temperature module, and industrial personal computer software. The coating and bonding operation is based on the three‐axis Cartesian coordinates' motion and the help of pneumatic system. Findings – Compared with the experimental prototype and handwork, the robot is more effective and reliable for the bonding process of the thin‐type solar cells. Originality/value – The robot is very useful to realize automatic production of SSC.