Swagelok Co., a Solon, Ohio-based developer and provider of fluid system solutions, has unveiled SC-06, a new process specification designed to provide testing, cleaning and packaging steps for stainless-steel components for use in PV applications.
‘The photovoltaic industry presents unique challenges for solar cell manufacturers, who have to balance the need for ultrahigh-purity processing with the cost containment that will help them achieve grid parity,’ says John Baxter, manager, products and technology, Swagelok Co. ‘The SC-06 specification defines a set of baseline requirements so that products can be processed at a level appropriate for the industry and its goals.’
The baseline requirements include specifying the high-quality surface finish, visual inspection criteria and particle counts the PV industry needs to maintain reliability and process control for improved uptime, while identifying areas (e.g., work-area classification, analytics and packaging) where costs can be contained.
The Swagelok Photovoltaic Process Specification (SC-06) is an available option for many Swagelok products in place of the company's other specifications.
Products currently available with SC-06 processing include DP and DPH springless diaphragm valves, HB and BN series bellows valves, CW series check valves, VCR metal gasket face seal fittings and Micro-Fit miniature tube butt weld fittings.
SOURCE: Swagelok Co.
