About Our Solar Division
Precision Stainless Steel For Long-Life Solar Energy Systems
The solar industry demands high-performance stainless steel fittings. Components must deliver strong structural support under long-term loads and wind pressure, while maintaining excellent corrosion resistance in harsh environments such as humidity, UV exposure, and salt spray over 20+ years.
Profab offers a fully integrated production process. From raw material sourcing and CNC machining to welding, assembly, surface finishing, and precision testing. We focus on supplying the solar sector with components that ensure reliable strength, corrosion resistance, and consistent dimensional accuracy for long-term outdoor use.
Industries Served
Solar Energy Applications
Structural Systems For Photovoltaic Installations
Ground-mounted and rooftop PV racking systems rely on stainless steel threaded rods, spacers, standoffs, and clamps to securely anchor panel arrays across 25+ year service lives. These components must resist wind uplift loads, thermal expansion cycling, and outdoor corrosion simultaneously — without coating maintenance or periodic replacement.
Tracking Systems & Rotating Mechanisms
Solar trackers follow the sun’s path throughout each day, rotating panels to maximize energy yield. These systems rely on high-strength rotating components such as rod ends, spherical bearings, clevis forks, and ball joints that undergo millions of cycles over a project’s lifetime. To maintain tracking precision and prevent mechanical wear-induced misalignment, these components must provide exceptional abrasion resistance, dimensional accuracy, and minimal mechanical play.
Material Specification
Solar Grade Stainless Steel We Work With
304 Stainless Steel
The most widely used stainless alloy for inland solar installations with low chloride exposure. Excellent corrosion resistance against rain, humidity, and atmospheric oxidation. It’s suitable for ground-mount structural hardware, rooftop bracket fasteners, and spacer assemblies in non-coastal environments.
Inland Solar Farms
Rooftop PV Brackets
316 / 316L Stainless Steel
Molybdenum addition significantly improves resistance to chloride-induced pitting. It’s essential for coastal solar farms, floating PV systems, and offshore installations. 316L (low carbon) is preferred for welded structural assemblies. Required for all projects within 10km of coastline or in high-humidity industrial environments with chemical pollutants.
Floating PV
Offshore Wind
Duplex 2205 & 17-4PH
Duplex 2205 provides roughly double the yield strength of 316L with superior stress corrosion cracking resistance. It’s specified for high-load tracker drive components, offshore monopile connectors, and structural brackets under sustained tensile loads in corrosive environments. 17-4PH for precision pivot shafts requiring high strength and dimensional stability.
High-Load Pivots
Tracker Drive Shafts
Parts Catalog
Solar Energy Stainless Steel Components We Manufacture
All components are available as custom CNC machined parts based on your technical drawings or 3D files. OEM customization, small-batch production, and rapid prototyping are fully supported for solar EPC and equipment OEM projects. Material certification and dimensional inspection reports available on request.
Rod Ends
Ball Joints
Spacers
Clamps
Manufacturing
Solar Energy Industry Manufacturing Capabilities
01
CNC Machining
3-, 4- and 5-axis machining centers for complex contour geometry, multi-face processing in a single setup, and tight tolerance control. Tooling and cutting parameters optimized specifically for marine-grade stainless alloys.
02
CNC Turning
High-speed rotary precision and multi-face complex contouring. Ideal for threaded fasteners, rod ends, propeller shafts, and rotational components requiring dimensional accuracy under fatigue loading.
03
Sheet Metal Fabrication
Integrated laser cutting, CNC bending, punching, wire EDM, and welding. Used for brackets, structural plates, manifolds, and enclosures requiring both forming and welded assembly.
ADVANTAGES
Why Solar Energy Experts Choose Profab
Profab has a complete production system from raw material procurement, CNC machining, welding and assembly to surface treatment and precision testing. We specialize in serving the aerospace, automotive, machinery, and agricultural industries that demand the highest levels of performance and reliability.
Multiple Surface Treatment Capabilities
Accessories in the solar industry need to be exposed to harsh outdoor environments for long periods of time. If the surface is not properly treated, problems such as corrosion, passivation failure, and loosening of mechanical joints can easily occur, thus affecting the structural stability and lifetime of the entire PV system.
Profab offers a wide range of professional-grade surface treatments, including pickling, passivation, electrolytic polishing, sandblasting, and anticorrosive coatings that effectively enhance the weathering and corrosion resistance of stainless steel parts. This not only extends service life, but also facilitates subsequent assembly or welding operations.
- Material Certification
- Batch Traceability Control
- Third-Party Reports
- Salt Spray Resistance Testing
Precision Machining of Profab
Components in solar energy systems require long-term mechanical movement or precise positioning, which requires very high dimensional accuracy and fit tolerances of the accessories.Profab has advanced CNC machining equipment and strict process flow to ensure the precise positioning and stable operation of each component in the system. High-precision turning, milling, drilling, and automated assembly technologies enable batch consistency and high assembly efficiency. This is particularly suitable for solar systems with multi-axis linkages and dynamically adjustable structures.
- Tensile Strength Testing
- Fatigue Resistance Testing
- Dimensional Tolerance Inspection
- Assembly Fit Verification
FAQ
Questions From Solar EPC & Procurement Teams
Have a technical question not covered here? Send your drawings directly and our engineering team will review your application and provide a detailed quotation.
Will it rust if used outdoors for a long time?
The use of high-quality stainless steel and with electropolishing or passivation treatment can effectively improve the corrosion resistance life.
Which stainless grade should I specify for a coastal solar installation?
For coastal solar farms within 10km of the sea, we recommend 316L stainless steel as the minimum specification. The molybdenum addition provides significantly better resistance to chloride-induced pitting than 304. It’s critical for long-term structural reliability in salt spray environments. For projects directly on or adjacent to the ocean (floating PV, offshore installations), specialist anti-corrosion surface treatment in addition to 316L grade selection is recommended. We evaluate your specific site conditions before making a final material recommendation.
Get Started
Ready to Source Solar-Grade Stainless Parts?
Send your technical drawings or part specifications directly to our engineering team. We’ll review your application and respond with a detailed quotation — typically within 24 hours.
Profab