In this guide 6 sections
Make the vendor show your line, not slides. Test serial capture at every station, flasher file import, cell and glass lot consumption, power binning and warranty lookup by serial. A good demo uses your own sample files and a rework case.
Make the demo run on your data
A week before the demo, send the vendor a flasher output file, an EL image name pattern, your bill of materials and a list of your stations. Have them load all of it into the trial system.
A demo built on invented solar data proves little. Insist on yours. One that opens your own flasher file proves the import works.
Keep a person from the line in the room, because a supervisor spots an awkward scan step far faster than a manager watching slides.
Serial capture at each station
Ask how a serial is created and where it is scanned. Can the stringer, layup, laminator, EL, flasher and packing stations each read it with a handheld or fixed scanner?
Then ask what stops a module from moving on when a scan is missing. A system that only records and never blocks will be bypassed on a busy shift.
Rework is the next test. It breaks most systems. A module returns to the stringer for a broken cell, so does the second pass attach to the same serial?
- Which stations scan, and with what hardware
- What blocks a module with a missing scan
- How rework keeps the original serial
- How a damaged label is reprinted
Flasher files, lots and binning
Request the flasher import live. It should read Pmax, Voc, Isc, Vmp, Imp and fill factor by serial with no retyping. Learn what happens when the file arrives late or a serial repeats.
Check lot consumption next. When a cell pallet is issued, can staff see which serials used it, and how does the screen catch a glass change mid shift?
Binning should come from the flasher result. Look at a pallet label and packing list built from it, with the power class printed.
- Flasher and EL file import by serial
- Cell, EVA, glass and backsheet lot capture
- Power bins and pallet label printing
- Alerts for expired EVA or a quarantined lot
Warranty lookup and reports
Type a serial from a shipped module and ask for its history. You should see lots, test result, dispatch and customer in one place, because this is the question a claim will bring.
Then reverse it by picking a cell lot and asking which modules used it. If the vendor needs a developer to answer, the data is not linked.
Finally, the weekly reports. Yield by station, rework count and bin spread should open without a custom job.
Contract and handover questions
Find out how your data is exported and who holds it. Ask what a new station or module model costs in effort, and who on your own team can set it up without writing code.
Propose a pilot on one line shift with an agreed list of what must work, and watch how the vendor handles its own mistakes during those days.
Next step: turn these questions into a scored sheet and hand the same sheet to every vendor.
Vendor demo scoring sheet
Every demo test sits in a separate row: station scans, missing scan block, rework, flasher import, EL image link, lot trace both ways, bin label, warranty lookup and export. Columns hold pass, partial or fail, who watched, and notes. A last block records pilot terms.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
How many vendors should we test?
Two or three. More than that makes comparison hard, and each demo takes your line staff away from work.
Do we need a manufacturing execution system?
Not always. A focused tool for serials, lots, test files and warranty history can serve a mid-size line without a full system.
What if our flasher software is old?
Ask for a sample of its output early. Most flashers write text or CSV files, and the vendor can say whether the format is readable.
Who should join the demo?
The plant head, a quality engineer, a line supervisor and whoever handles warranty claims. Each will test a different thing.