In photovoltaic manufacturing, wafer cleaning has a direct impact on subsequent coating and electrical performance. Traditional architectures based mainly on local I/O often struggle when more monitoring points, remote diagnostics or process optimization are needed.

In one project, a wafer cleaning system adopted an Omron PLC plus RB remote I/O solution. The configuration of 3×RB-1110, 3×16DI, 3×16DO, 1×AI and 1×AO enables centralized monitoring and control of machine status, water pressure and chemical concentration.

Digital inputs and outputs track drives, safety doors, levels and alarms. Analog channels read pressure, flow or concentration signals, while analog outputs control valves and pumps to keep the cleaning process within a defined operating window.

With the RB remote I/O, the equipment maker can:

• Consolidate sensors and actuators scattered around the machine into unified remote stations;

• Reserve I/O capacity for future monitoring points or recipe optimization without major rewiring;

• Feed data to higher-level systems for trend analysis and root-cause investigation, improving cleaning consistency.

This allows PV manufacturers to upgrade their wafer cleaning sections to a more data-driven mode without changing their main PLC platform.