The Batant is operated by hand to concentrate the suns energy onto a smaller area (the focal point), such as the bottom of the pan.

When the small parabolas are made they are mounted on the machine and oriented to reflect the light onto the focal point. The machine is turned to face the sun (by observing the shadow the machine casts) and each parabola is oriented and fixed with bolts. After this step only the machine has to turn and the rows turned (by the row handles), an operation that takes about 10 seconds. Every 15 to 20 minutes the Batant must be adjusted again.