Schmalz Receives Innovation Prize for the Schmalz Wafer Gripper

24.06.2010

The “Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken Baden-Württemberg” [German banking house] honors J. Schmalz GmbH for its development of the wafer gripper.

J. Schmalz GmbH has been honored with the “Innovationspreis Mittelstand der Volksbanken Raiffeisenbanken” [Innovation Prize], an award for innovation in small to medium-sized companies presented by the banking group “Volksbanken Raiffesienbanken” (“VR”). On Wednesday, June 23, 2010, in Heilbronn, Germany, the vacuum technology specialist received the top prize, valued at EUR 25,000, for the development of a new gripper for the photovoltaic industry: the Schmalz wafer gripper.

Wafers and solar cells are components of photovoltaic modules, which are placed on the roofs of buildings to convert sunlight into electricity. Robots position the wafers and solar cells to within a hundredth of a millimeter to be ready for the next work step. However, these components are made from a brittle material, silicon, and are extremely sensitive. They can easily break during handling. The award-winning grippers, which essentially constitute the “hand” of the robot, solve this challenge. The grippers pick up the solar components so gently that they do not crack, despite a processing cycle of only seconds. This quick and careful gripping is made possible by hundreds of suction points where the normal air pressure is reduced to create a vacuum, so that the wafers can be picked up without being damaged. For the first time, the new grippers are fulfilling the diverse requirements of solar companies. They enable cycle times of less than one second, are capable of handling the solar cells carefully and without leaving a “fingerprint”, and can be used in production under clean room conditions. This is the only way to make the production of the modules economical and sustainable.

This innovative technology was developed extremely quickly, just five months until its launch in May 2009; the product has established itself in the market rapidly. Schmalz intends to use the prize money for further research and development of innovative vacuum solutions. The company is particularly focusing on industries such as packaging, solar power and wind power.

The VR Innovation Prize has been awarded to small to medium-sized companies in Baden-Württemberg for ten years. J. Schmalz was invited to compete for the VR Innovation Prize by the Volksbank Rottweil, which has been serving Schmalz as its local bank for decades. Companies having a maximum revenue of EUR 100 million can take part in the competition. The jury consists of business representatives, scientists and media specialists. The areas evaluated are technical innovations, sustainable concepts and creative achievements.

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Questions regarding public relations:
J. Schmalz GmbH Marketing Communications Aacher Str. 29 D-72293 Glatten	Tel.: +49 (0)7443 2403-506 Fax: +49 (0)7443 2403-9506 presse@schmalz.de

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