Burst Crack in Laminated PV Module

Edges of materials are always more fragile. These pictures show large cracks propagating in the rear-side glass from the hole in the glass where the busbar connects to the junction box. The factory where these modules were discovered was trying to save time (and therefore cost) by stacking modules right after lamination on the ground, without any protection. This poor, totally uncontrolled process resulted in significant damage, and further delay in the production line. While this corner-cutting example may have been obviously detected, it may not be the case for more subtle, maybe near-miss events, where only the presence in factory of qualified inspectors may prevent uncontrolled behaviors.