TW201827655A - Continuous separator and assembly for such - Google Patents

Abstract

Continuous separator used for electroplating a substance on an object, wherein the said continuous separator comprises at least a conductive contact arm of contactor, the said contactor is located in an area of the said continuous separator, and is isolated from a used for a substance of electroplating's electrolyte; a used for continuous separator's assembly for such.

Description

Continuous separator and its components

The present invention relates to a continuous separator disclosed in claim 1 and a component thereof. The separator is used for plating a substance on an object, and the component is used for plating a substance on an object.

If a large number of objects need to be plated, it can be economically realized in many cases by continuous separators. Such as: a large number of metal or metal alloy plating operations, such as solar cell substrates or solar cell finished products can also be economically plated in accordance with industry standards. An electrolytic solution needs to be provided in the plating operation, and the electrolytic solution has ions of a substance to be plated. In addition, a current loop must be set up. Through this circuit, the aforementioned ions will adhere to the surface of the object due to their charge carriers. For example, in the metal plating operation, the electrons on the surface of the object to be plated are ionized and precipitated. Here, due to their characteristics, the electrons will react with the cations in the electrolyte in contact with the electrolyte. On the surface of the object.

In order to electroplate a substance onto a large number of objects with a continuous separator, the objects to be plated in a continuous flow system must be electrically conductive. Since the object to be plated is in a moving state, a suitable conductive operation is a sliding contact type. This sliding contact type can be provided by, for example, a conductive brush, a semi-elastic flexible sheet or a film. Particularly in the case of using a thin film, its material may be metal, stainless steel, or graphite.

The current discussion is to continuously pass a large number of objects through the technology of a continuous separator. The sliding contact device first contacts the previous object and the next object. As in many cases that are usually or necessary in practice, the continuous system to be plated is performed at a predetermined interval, and there is no object in sliding contact with the object after the first object passes and before the subsequent object appears Device contact. During this time interval, the sliding contact device usually contacts the electrolyte directly, that is, the sliding contact device is immersed in the electrolytic solution. This is particularly the case when a substance is ionized on a carrier such as a solar panel. Unnecessary direct contact of such a sliding contact device with the electrolyte can cause segregation of substances, that is, metal that is attached from the electrolyte to the sliding contact device. This effect occurs not only in sliding contact devices with conductive brushes, but also in other types of contactors, such as metal rollers. Unnecessary ionization in sliding contact devices or other contact devices may further damage the surface of subsequent objects. For thin objects, such as solar cell substrates and solar panels, this situation may even cause objects Damage, or may cause corrosion at the contact end.

The present invention solves the situation described above, and discloses a continuous separator for plating a substance on an object. By using the continuous separator, the plating effect of the substance and the contactor can be greatly reduced or avoided. .

The present invention can propose a solution through the technical means disclosed in claim 1.

In addition, the present invention is based on such an object, and discloses a method for manufacturing a lower-cost product using the continuous separator.

The aforementioned means for solving problems are the components disclosed in claim 9 of the present case.

Other beneficial technical means are disclosed in the remaining appended items of the present invention.

The continuous separator disclosed in the present invention is used to electrolyze a substance on an object. It discloses a plurality of contactors having at least one conductive contact arm. In addition, the contactors are arranged in at least one area of the continuous separator and are isolated from the electrolyte used for electroplating of a substance. Based on this configuration condition, the contact between the contactors and the electrolyte does not occur when the contactors are in contact with the objects, or when the contactors are not in contact with any objects. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the situation that unnecessary plating materials are electroplated to the contactors, and to prevent the contactors from corroding too quickly or prematurely, and to provide a stable ionization process condition. In addition, it can effectively improve process control. Furthermore, the maintenance cost of the continuous separator will also be reduced, because these contactors do not need to clean unnecessary plating materials, otherwise these materials will appear after a period of time through corrosion and current conversion. In short, in many cases, the present invention can effectively provide a technical solution for improving the current density.

The contact arm is preferably flexible. Through the flexible contact arm, the uneven surface of the object can be overcome. Preferably, a plurality of contact arms are used. In this way, good contact can be ensured by the contactors on the uneven surface of the object.

The contact arms, or the integral contactors, may be made of, for example, Graphitfolie or a stainless steel plate, where the suitable thickness of the stainless steel plate is 0.5 mm. The coating of the contact arm can be a precious metal such as gold, which has many benefits in some specific cases.

Preferably, when a plurality of contactors are used, their contact arms need to have smooth edges, at least in those areas where the contact arms are in contact with the object. These smooth edges can be formed by, for example, laser cutting, wire cutting (Drahterosion), or electropolishing (Elektropolieren). The contact arm with smooth edges can effectively avoid or reduce the risk of scratching the object, or at least alleviate the condition of the surface of the object being damaged.

Preferably, all contactors are arranged in a region isolated from the electrolyte. The present invention has many excellent effects in such cases. Basically, these contactors also include other possible configurations.

A preferred arrangement is to dispose the electrolyte in a water tank. At least one drainage device is arranged in the water tank, and the water level of the electrolyte of the device can be lowered locally in the drainage area. The contactors have a plurality of contact surfaces through which objects can be contacted. Here, only the contact surfaces of at least one conductive contact arm may be involved, and these contact surfaces come into contact with the object during the operation of the continuous separator. The contact surface of the aforementioned contactor is arranged in a drainage area. In this way, the arrangement of the contactors in the various regions of the continuous separator and the isolation from the electrolyte can be implemented economically.

Preferably, the drainage device is a hollow body, which is arranged at least below the contact surface with at least one contactor in sequence and can be circulated by the electrolyte at least in order. The form and configuration of the hollow body may be: located below a contact surface of a specific contactor. Alternatively, the size of the hollow body may be determined by the space it occupies below the contact surface of the plurality of contactors. In this way, the drainage area can fit the position of the contact surface economically, and vice versa.

More preferably, there is an opening above the at least one drainage device, and at least a part of the opening is arranged below the water level of the electrolyte. This configuration can effectively reduce the water level of the electrolyte locally.

In practice, a suitable method is that the hollow body is tubular, and the opening above the tube is located below the contact surface of at least one contactor.

In an aspect of the invention, a plurality of contactors, preferably all contactors, are connected to the same power source, and the contactors thus receive power. This makes it possible to save contactor wiring solutions. However, these contactors may exhibit unequal plating rates (Abscheideraten). This is due to the existence of obvious, unequal resistance phenomena between the power supply and the connection lines of the various contactors. To balance this effect, at least a part of the contactors is connected in series with the load resistance. Here, the measurement method of the load resistance is: when the contact is closed, each of the above contactors is loaded with an equivalent current. In other words, the selection of these load resistors is to compensate the above-mentioned unequal resistance phenomenon that occurs between the power supply and the connection lines of each contactor, and to make the same current flow through each contactor. In the case of contact closure, these contact surfaces are in close contact with the object so that a current can form a path. If all contactors are connected to the power supply, a power center can be set, so the contactors can be opened at the same time. The above advantages exclude high-cost device solutions, because the unequal resistance of each contactor must be determined and balanced. In addition, the power loss is so high that the power supply must be able to provide significantly higher voltages, which may increase the manufacturing costs of continuous separator equipment.

Alternatively, each contactor may each have a rectifier, which is provided as a preferred constant current power source. Thus, the determination and setting of the load resistance required to compensate for the unequal resistance phenomenon can be avoided or at least reduced. However, this method requires 250 rectifiers or constant current power supplies when it is applied to a solar panel manufacturing process with a universal industrial continuous separator. For this reason, a considerable amount of installation space is required, and this space must usually be located outside the actual mobile system. In addition, such planned facilities will result in higher wiring costs.

A component of a continuous separator used for plating a substance on an object according to the present invention discloses a contactor and a controller connected to a power source. Each of the at least one contactor is connected to the controller via a separate wire, so the at least one contactor can be driven by being charged with current. With such an assembly, the above-mentioned continuous separator can be erected modularly.

Preferably, the at least one contactor has a plurality of contactors, and preferably has at least four contactors. This allows the advantages of the above-mentioned constant current source to be implemented economically for each contactor.

Accordingly, the installation of the controller has many advantages, and the currents of the plurality of contactors loaded on the plurality of contactors can be individually controlled and adjusted. Measured variables used to adjust the operation, such as the current through each contactor or the contact resistance in each contactor, can be displayed in the program, and the contactor or other processes can be well matched in the subsequent processes of the respective objects.

Preferably, the controller of each contactor of the at least one contactor is configured as a constant current adjustment, so each contactor of the at least one contactor can be loaded with the same current and act accordingly. In this way, relatively uniformly ionizing a substance can be achieved economically in a continuous separator.

Preferably, the purpose of installing the controller is to make each contactor of the at least one contactor separately circulate a predetermined current curve. The aforementioned current curve refers to the time-series change of the nominal current value. That is, the contactor related to it is loaded with the current indicated by the current value in the order of time, that is, the current curve. The aforementioned current value can be controlled or adjusted accordingly. In this embodiment of the component, the possibilities of program technology are expanded. For example, the plurality of contactors and the objects in contact with them in the continuous separator can be loaded with current pulses (Strompulsen), and the English name of this program is "pulse plating". In addition, reverse or alternating polarity current loading applications are possible, and the English name of this procedure is "reverse plating". It can also be delayed or suspended during the plating process.

In a preferred arrangement, the controller exposes a communication interface by which signals can be bidirectionally interchanged by a data processor. The aforementioned communication interface is preferably configured as a bus interface, such as an CAN bus interface. Through the communication interface current controller, a predetermined parameter of the data processor for current control can be read. In addition, among the large amount of data determined by the controller, for the purpose of monitoring program and process information archiving, operations such as the current transmission of each contactor to the data processor can be implemented. In this data processor, the current value of each contactor is stored. In addition, the defective products produced in the manufacturing process can be remedied by the corresponding parameters in subsequent procedures. The data exchange through the communication interface is preferably through a protection protocol.

The continuous separator disclosed in the present invention preferably discloses at least one of the aforementioned components. Accordingly, their advantages are realized in a continuous separator.

The aforementioned continuous separator can be preferably used for electroplating a metal or a metal alloy. It is particularly advantageous to use it for electroplating a metal or metal alloy on a substrate, especially a solar cell panel.

In practice, the continuous separator of the present invention is suitable for the metallization of solar panels with aluminum backing. The English term for aluminum backing is "aluminum back surface field". In addition, it is also suitable for the metallization of solar panels of passivated emitters, also known as PERC cells; the metallization of fully diffused solar panels for passivated emitters, also known as PERT cells; suitable for both sides Metallization of photosensitive solar panels, so-called double-sided solar panels.

The present invention is further described below by way of illustration. For the sake of effectiveness, the components with the same function are marked with the same symbols. The invention is not limited to the embodiments and functional characteristics provided in the drawings. The description so far and the following figures contain many features, some of which are outlined in the scope of the accompanying patents. Those skilled in the art can recognize the foregoing features and all the features mentioned in the previous and subsequent drawings, and form other embodiments. In particular, in the respective embodiments and other suitable embodiments, all the mentioned features can be arbitrarily combined according to the patent scope.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a continuous separator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The continuous separator 10 discloses a water tank 5 in which a liquid electrolyte 7 is contained. In the continuous separator 10, the solar cell panel 1 is transported in a transport direction 3 via a transport roller 4. The solar cell panel 1 is in contact with the electrolytic solution 7 below. The water tank 5 can be an overflow tank, so the water level 8 of the electrolyte 7 can be higher than the upper edge of the water tank 5 so that the electrolyte will not overflow to the water tank surrounding it (not shown in the figure).

The continuity separator 10 reveals a plurality of contactors 12. In FIG. 1, for convenience, only one conductive contact arm 13 is used. In practice, it is not necessary to provide a plurality of contact arms. In the water tank 5, a plurality of pipes 16 are used as drainage equipment. The opening 17 above the tube is below the water level 8 of the electrolyte 7. Thereby, the electrolyte 15 flows into the opening 17 of the tube 16 from around the tube 16. As a result, the water level 8 of the electrolyte drops locally in the drainage area 18.

The contactor 12 has a plurality of contact surfaces 14 below it. The plurality of contact surfaces 14 refer to surfaces that contact the solar cell panel during the transportation process of the solar cell panel 1 through the continuous separator 10. The contact surfaces 14 of the contactors 12 are disposed in the drainage area 18. Therefore, the contact surfaces 14 together include that the entire contactor 12 is not in contact with the electrolyte solution 7. When the contact surfaces are not above the solar cell panel 1, they are not in contact with the electrolyte solution 7. Therefore, the contact surfaces 14 together with the entire contactor 12 cannot be brought into contact with the electrolytic solution 7, and the aforementioned situation of the poor electroplated metal generated on the contactor 12 can be effectively avoided. In addition, when the solar cell panel 1 is conveyed under the contactor 12 and is in contact with the contact surface 14, depending on the size of the tube 16, parts of the contact surfaces 14 on the solar cell panel 1 may fall outside the drainage area 18. . Since the contact surfaces 14 are located above the water level 8 of the electrolyte 7 at this time, no contact occurs between the contact surfaces 14 or the rest of the contactor 12 and the electrolyte 7.

The embodiment disclosed in FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram in which the plurality of contact surfaces 14 of the contactors 12 are disposed in the drainage area 18 in the foregoing manner. In addition, the tubes 16 are located below the contact surfaces 14 of the contactors 12. Similarly, the embodiment of FIG. 2 discloses that the plurality of contact surfaces 14 of the contactors 22a, 22b are disposed in the drainage area 28, and the pipes 26 are disposed below the contact surfaces 14 of the contactors 22a, 22b.

2 is a cross-sectional view of a continuous separator 20 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. The biggest difference from the continuous separator 10 disclosed in FIG. 1 is that two contactors 22a, 22b are provided in the drainage area 28. These contacts The devices are juxtaposed along the transportation direction 3 of the solar cell panel 1. This variant design has several advantages in individual applications. Except for this, the rest of the arrangement relationship is the same as that of the first embodiment disclosed in FIG. 1. The contact surfaces 14 of the contactors 22 a and 22 b are arranged in the drainage area 28 and do not contact the electrolyte 7. The openings 27 of these tubes 26 are similarly arranged below the water level 8 of the electrolytic solution 7.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the present invention. The disclosed continuous separator 30 has a plurality of contactors 32a, 32b having four contact arms 33a, 33b, 33c, 33d, respectively. Two contactors 32a, 32b arranged next to each other according to the transportation direction 3 of the solar cell panel 1, as in the embodiment disclosed in FIG. 2, the contactors 22a, 22b are disposed above the same drainage device, and the drainage The device is arranged like a continuous separator 20 with a pipe. Alternatively, it can be replaced by other drainage devices. In FIG. 3, a plurality of pipes as the drainage device are not disclosed in the figure, and the contactor 32b can be identified only sporadically or partially. In most cases, the contactor 32 b is covered by the contactor carrier 34. The contactor carriers 34 are used to support the contactor modules 36, and the contactor modules 36 are used to receive the contactors 32a, 32b.

In the continuous separator 30 of the present invention, all of the plurality of contactors 32a, 32b are connected to the power source 40. In order to achieve the purpose of balancing the difference in resistance values detailed previously, all of the plurality of contactors 32a, 32b are connected in series with the load resistance 38. The foregoing configuration can be found in the contactor module 36 in FIG. 3 of the present embodiment. Basically, this arrangement can also be provided at other locations. For the sake of clarity, the power lines of the power supply 40 are disclosed in FIG. 3.

According to other embodiments disclosed in the figures, the solar panel 1 is transported in the transport direction 3 by means of a conveyor belt 4 and is guided through the contactors 32a, 32b. In the embodiment disclosed in FIG. 3, the contactors 32 a and 32 b are made of stainless steel plate, so they are easier to bend and can contact the solar cell panel 1. The movement of the solar panel 1 will not be slowed down or even stopped by the contact with the contactors 32a, 32b. In all the embodiments disclosed in FIGS. 1 to 4, at least for a part of the time, when the contactors are in contact with the solar cell panel, the contactors will transmit current or charge carriers to the solar cell panel. This current loop is formed in a conventional manner by the electrolyte 7 and the anode terminal not shown in the figure.

FIG. 4 is a partial schematic diagram of components of a continuous separator according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. The component 60 is illustrated by a dotted line in the figure. At the same time, FIG. 4 also discloses another embodiment of the continuous separator through a partial schematic diagram. The continuous separator 50 also discloses a water tank, an electrolyte, a plurality of drainage devices, and a plurality of conveyor belts. For the sake of clarity, FIG. 4 omits the aforementioned elements, but discloses the solar cell panel 1 moved in the conveying direction 3 by a conveying belt not shown in the figure. Similar to the embodiment disclosed in Figs. 1 and 2, a plurality of drainage devices, especially a plurality of pipes, are arranged in the drainage area. In this drainage area, a contact surface of the contactor 52 is provided.

The continuity separator 50 has four components 60. The number of these components can be increased or decreased according to their needs. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, each component has three contactors 52. This component is therefore designed for a three-track system. As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 3, the number of the contactors can be increased so that each track in a module includes two contactors, or an extra number of tracks is added to the continuous separator 50. Each contactor 52 has contact arms 53a, 52b, 53c. The contact arm can be changed according to its application. The contactor 52 is supported by a contactor carrier 54.

In addition to the contactor 52, the module 60 has a controller 64 connected to a power source. In the embodiment of the assembly 60 of the continuous contactor 50 disclosed in FIG. 4, the controller is connected to a power source 70. The contactors 52 are connected to the controller 64 through separate wires 62. This is done in the following manner: Each contactor 52 is activated individually with current.

In addition, the module 60 also has a data processing unit 68. The purpose of the data processing unit is to perform the measurement tasks in the module, such as the current or resistance measurement of each contactor 52 or the contact arms 53a, 53b, 53c, to aggregate the measurement data and if necessary further Process measurement data. This controller is set as constant current control of each contactor. In addition, the controller is provided for flowing a predetermined current curve separately from each controller 52. The aforementioned controller functions may be implemented via discrete electronics or electronic circuits or their devices. Preferably, the setting of the data processing unit 68 having the aforementioned functions may provide its functionality by adding more controller components if necessary. This has great flexibility in the execution of the program. Furthermore, the bus interface 66 provided in the module 60 is used to achieve a connection with the data processor so that the signals can be interchanged in both directions. This flexibility can be further increased. Under the application of such a bus interface, the determined measurement data can be read from the controller 66 in the central controller, and the component 60 that is set in the conveying direction 3 with a current flow, that is, the contact in the component The device can be driven for each solar panel. Therefore, it is possible to compensate or at least reduce its defects by adjusting the process parameters of the subsequent parts of the continuous separator, or adjusting the process parameter characteristics of individual solar cell panels 1. In addition, in the sense of process management, a large amount of data and process information of each processed solar panel can be transferred to the data processor 72 and stored for archiving.

A complex current curve can be implemented by the data processing unit 68. Such as: low current is initially loaded, so any electrolyte on the solar panel can be dried while avoiding sparks. In subsequent procedures, a slightly higher current can be loaded to implement the required plating rate.

In all of the embodiments disclosed in the figures, maintenance-worthy parts can be protected from corrosion by means of protective lacquer or cast epoxy. Although the invention has been described in detail and further by preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other possible solutions of the present invention can be accomplished by a skilled person without departing from the basic concept of the present invention.

1‧‧‧ solar panel

3‧‧‧ Conveying direction

4‧‧‧ transport roller

5‧‧‧ sink

7‧‧‧ Electrolyte

8‧‧‧ water level

10‧‧‧ continuous separator

12‧‧‧ Contactor

13‧‧‧ contact arm

14‧‧‧ contact surface

15‧‧‧ Electrolyte

16‧‧‧ tube

17‧‧‧ opening

18‧‧‧ drainage area

20‧‧‧ continuous separator

22a‧‧‧Contactor

22b‧‧‧Contactor

26‧‧‧ tube

27‧‧‧ opening

28‧‧‧ drainage area

30‧‧‧ continuous separator

32a‧‧‧ Contactor

32b‧‧‧ Contactor

33a‧‧‧contact arm

33b‧‧‧contact arm

33c‧‧‧contact arm

33d‧‧‧contact arm

34‧‧‧ contactor carrier

36‧‧‧Contactor abrasive parts

38‧‧‧Load resistance

40‧‧‧ Power

50‧‧‧ continuous separator

52‧‧‧Contactor

53a‧‧‧contact arm

53b‧‧‧contact arm

53c‧‧‧contact arm

54‧‧‧Contactor carrier

60‧‧‧components

62‧‧‧ Electric wires

64‧‧‧controller

66‧‧‧bus interface

68‧‧‧data processing unit

70‧‧‧ Power

72‧‧‧Data Processor

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a continuous separator according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a continuous separator according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a partial schematic view of a continuous separator of Embodiment 3 of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partial schematic diagram of components of a continuous separator according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

Claims (15)

A continuous separator (10; 20; 30; 50) for electroplating a substance on an object (1), wherein the continuous separator (10; 20; 30; 50) includes at least one conductive contact arm (13; 33a; 33b; 33c; 33d; 53a; 53c) contactor (12; 22a; 22b; 32a; 32b; 52), characterized in that the contactor (12; 22a; 22b; 32a; 32b; 52) It is arranged in at least one area of the continuous separator (10; 20; 30; 50), and is isolated from an electrolyte (7) for plating the substance. For example, the continuous separator (10; 20; 30; 50) of claim 1, wherein the electrolyte (7) is installed in a water tank (5); at least one drainage device (16) is installed in the water tank (5) ), Through these drainage devices, the water level (8) of the electrolyte (7) can be partially lowered in the drainage area (18; 28); the contactor (12; 22a; 22b; 32a; 32b; 52) contains a plurality of The contact surface (14) is in contact with the object (1) via the plurality of surfaces (14); the plurality of contact surfaces (14) of the contactor (12; 22a; 22b; 32a; 32b; 52) are arranged In these drainage areas (18; 28). For example, the continuous separator (10; 20; 30; 50) of claim 2, characterized in that it has at least one drainage device (16; 26) disclosed by a hollow body (16), the hollow body (16; 26) Is arranged at least sequentially below the contact surfaces (14; 24) of the contactor (12; 22a; 22b; 32a; 32b; 52), and can be circulated by the electrolyte (7) at least sequentially through. If the continuous separator (10; 20; 30; 50) of claim 3, which further includes a tube (16) as a hollow body (16), the opening (17; 27) above the tube is located to contain at least one contact Device (12; 22a; 22b; 32a; 32b; 52) below the plurality of contact surfaces (14; 24). The continuous separator (10; 20; 30; 50) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plurality of contactors (32a; 32b) are preferably all contactors (32a; 32b), and A power source (40) is electrically connected, and at least a part of the plurality of contactors (32a; 32b) is connected in series with a load resistance (38), wherein the load resistance (38) is measured in the following manner: At that time, each of the above-mentioned contactors (32a; 32b) is loaded with an equivalent current. The continuous separator (10; 20; 30; 50) according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each of the plurality of contactors has a rectifier. The continuous separator (10; 20; 30; 50) according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 4 has at least one component (60), which includes: a plurality of contactors (52); one having a power source ( 70) The connected controller (64); wherein the contactors (52) are connected to the controller (64) through a plurality of electrical wires (62) separated from each other, so that the contactors (52) are respectively It acts by loading current; wherein the controller (64) is installed in order to load and control the respective currents of the contactors (52) respectively, or to adjust them better; The controller (64) of the contactor (52) is set with a constant current, and each of the independent contactors (52) is loaded with a constant current respectively; wherein the controller (64) is used to make Each of the independent contactors (52) executes a predetermined current curve, wherein the controller (64) has a communication interface (66), and signals can be interchanged in both directions. It is preferably a bus interface (64). The continuous separator (50) according to any one of the preceding claims 1 to 4, further comprising a component (60) according to at least any one of the claims 9 to 14. A component (60) for continuous separator (50) to electroplate a substance on an object, wherein the component (60) includes: at least a contactor (52); a control connected to a power source (70) The contactors (52) are connected to the controller (64) through a plurality of electrical wires (62) separated from each other, so that the contactors (52) are respectively loaded with an electric current and function. For example, the component (60) of claim 9 is characterized in that it includes a plurality of contactors (52), preferably at least four. For example, the component (60) according to any one of claims 9 to 10, wherein the controller (64) is installed so that the respective currents loaded on the contactors (52) can be individually controlled or / And regulation. For example, the component (60) of claim 11 is characterized in that the controller (64) for each of the independent contactors (52) is provided with a constant current, so that each of the independent contactors ( 52) Load them with a constant current respectively. The component (60) according to any one of claims 11 to 12, characterized in that the controller (64) is provided for causing each of the independent contactors (52) to execute a predetermined current curve execution separately. For example, the component (60) according to any one of claims 9 to 13, characterized in that the controller (64) has a communication interface (66), and the signal can be interchanged bidirectionally through its connection with the data processor (72) The communication interface (66) is preferably a bus interface (66). If a continuous separator (10; 20; 30; 50) for electroplating metal or metal alloy according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the metal or metal alloy is electroplated on a carrier plate (1), compared It is preferably a solar panel (1).