Design and demonstration of an automated gluing process for solar array manufacturing for space applications

Abstract

The Deutsches Zentrum f¨ur Luft- und Raumfahrt(German Aerospace Center) (DLR) aims to manufacture solar panels for their individual space missions. To increase flexibility and decrease costs a collaborative robot is used in this process. An important step in this process is the bonding of the fragile solar cells to a larger supporting structure with an adhesive. The adhesive bond for the connection of the solar cells to the supporting structure was developed, based on the expected loads and environment encountered during the lifetime of the solar array. The selected adhesive for this bond is the silicone adhesive Wachker RTV 691. A process for the application and the bonding of the solar cells was created. This process utilizes the collaborative robot and uses differed developed tools. For the application of the adhesive a tool is used that compresses a syringe with a stepper motor and a connected screw drive. The solar cells are handled by a tool that lifts them up by utilizing a vacuum. Further tests were performed to verify if the process can fulfill the requirements. A replacement adhesive had to be used for these tests. A definitive answer if this was successful, could therefore not be given, but the results look promising. This process could be used to manufacture 1 W of solar array power every 28.5 s