Innovation, development and basic engineering

In 2008, Komax once again invested substantially in development and basic engineering, spending CHF 25.2 million in this area (2007: CHF 21.5 million). The main focal point of this investment was on the development of new products. In the photovoltaics segment, the Group primarily invested in the design of thin-film systems and in additional crystalline technology products.

In the year under review, Komax continued to reduce the number of different ERP, PDM and CAD tools in use within the Group. In terms of ERP, Komax will be focusing on just one tool in future.

At Productronica 2007, Komax launched its new generation of Kappa products in the form of the Kappa 350 and Kappa 330 models. The focus in 2008 was on developing the new Kappa 310, Kappa 320 and Kappa 321 models, which Komax then presented at its in-house show in October. The new models complete the current generation of processing machines by catering for small and medium cross-section wires. For the Kappa 321, Komax has introduced a novel, patented swivel technique designed to facilitate inner conductor processing. High performance and user-friendliness are the hallmarks of the newgeneration Kappa machines. The simple touchscreen user interface and intelligent sensors with optical wire-end monitoring and electronic conductor detection reduce setup times by offering automated processes and allow optimal quality monitoring. Komax’s new Kappa generation won the award for the best industrial sector application in the Central Swiss Chamber of Commerce’s innovation awards for 2008.

At the beginning of 2008, Komax completed development work on the new bt 288 wire twisting machine. The bt 288 has two twist lines, each of which is equipped with two twisting heads including gripper units for two wires. Its sophisticated twisting process control system and state-of-the-art drive technology allow it to maintain a constant level of processing quality even at high twisting speeds. The simple, intuitive touchscreen user interface allows efficient management and fast changeovers for up to 500 products.

In the photovoltaics segment, Komax landed its first major order to outfit a 160-megawatt modules factory. Komax is supplying partial lines (matrix line) for the automated production of crystalline solar modules, including stringer and layup systems.

Komax has extensive expertise in the processes involved in manufacturing both crystalline and thin-film solar modules. Our many years of experience in photovoltaics have made Komax a strong and reliable partner for the development and optimization of customer-specific production processes.

In the crystalline technology segment, Komax presented both an innovative string tester and a new generation of layup systems based on a six-axis robot at the photovoltaics industry’s leading trade fair in Valencia in 2008. The Group also presented a new bussing system for fitting contacts to thin-film modules.

For its customer-specific thin-film machines, Komax used the software tools developed over the last few years (Top Control), standardized cells (Modulo 300) and a specially modified control hardware platform (Beckhoff), together with its own servo axes.

In the medical technology segment, Komax developed and launched the KSPilot platform. This platform is designed for low-volume series and forms an ideal complement to the established and popular highvolume KSD and KSL platforms. KSPilot has already received a positive response from the market: Several orders had already been received by the end of 2008.