Solar PV panel recycling equipment

Identifying potential reliability risks before the next prototype iteration

A material recycler was developing a novel machine to remove glass from photovoltaic panels for recycling.

The prototype cutting tool was experiencing repeated errors and less-than-ideal efficiency. The company needed to understand whether the cutting mechanism was suitable for processing panels, and whether it was contributing to the reliability problem.

Before investing in another prototype iteration, the company needed specialist engineering judgement to investigate the mechanics of cutting a brittle, laminated photovoltaic panel.

The key stage gate was deciding whether the existing cutting approach should be refined, fundamentally changed or subjected to further testing before more time and capital were committed.

Client: Material recycling

Equipment: Solar PV panel recycling equipment

Engineering fracture mechanics for driving the recycling

I reviewed the prototype and reframed the issue as a cutting-process and fracture problem rather than simply a prototype underperformance issue.

The assessment considered the interaction between the tool type and cutter geometry, spindle speed and feed rate, and the laminated photovoltaic-panel construction.

I applied tooling theory, tooth-load and chip-load principles to assess whether each cutting edge was operating within a mechanically reasonable regime.

The review identified operating and reliability risks outside the machine’s theoretically ideal operating regime. This gave the company a different way to understand the repeated prototype failures and enabled the team to consider engineering-based changes before proceeding with the next prototype.

Directed product-development effort

The key benefit was reducing the risk of investing another prototype cycle in the wrong engineering operating assumptions.

For technical founders or companies developing novel, first-in-market products, an independent engineering review can create significant value by identifying the question that must be answered before detailed redesign begins.