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IGMA Montreal Conference reports progress on technical issues

The IGMA Summer Conference in Montreal heard about the significant progress our many active committees and task groups are making. Here’s a look at some highlights.

The Quality Management System task group reported that the new quality manual, TM‐4500, Quality Management System for the Fabrication of Insulating Glass Units to the ISO 9001:2008 Standard is available from the IGMA publication store. The second manual, TM-4510, Quality Procedures for the Fabrication of Insulating Glass Units to the ISO 9001:2008 Standard has now passed all the approval levels and will be published this fall.

Working jointly with the GANA Insulating Division, the Glazing Guidelines task group is developing a technical bulletin (TB‐1800‐XX) to address load resistance (glass strength) and dead load support for IGUs with unsupported edge conditions. This bulletin does not address butt glazing. All sections of the document have now been written and the document will be balloted to the IGMA Technical Services Committee this fall.

The Guidelines and Tolerances for IGU Cavity Width task group is developing a manual, TM‐ 4400‐XX, Voluntary Guidelines for IGU Cavity Width Manufacturing Tolerances, which establishes tolerances in cavity width reduction at the point of manufacture and provides guidelines for the evaluation of the manufacturing of IGUs at the plant. It does not address reductions in the cavity width after the IGUs are shipped from the plant or installed in the field, as these are factors beyond the control of the manufacturer. The document was balloted to the IGMA Technical Services Committee and there have been some proposed changes that will require the attention of the task group to resolve.  

The IG Cavity Compensation task group is a new task group developing a technical manual providing generic design alternatives for cavity compensation for insulating glass units and determining conditions that impact the pressure in the IGU cavity. Items included in the document are capillary and breather tubes, one-way valves, desiccant adsorption/desorption, pre-inflating/pre-deflating the unit, temperature manipulation during fabrication and the use of bladders.

The PIB Migration task group, working jointly with the GANA Insulating Division, is developing a glass information bulletin on the compatibility testing of glazing materials related to the performance of PIB in insulating glass units. This document is substantially complete, however the task group will need to collect data to support some of the proposed changes to the test. A second document is close to completion: a technical bulletin specific to PIB as a primary sealant. This second technical bulletin (TB‐1250‐XX) includes the chemistry of PIB, proper handling of the sealant, performance parameters, methods for examination of conditions when PIB does not perform as expected and possible root causes.

Working jointly with the AAMA Glass Materials Council, the Visual Quality task group has developed a consumer guide to understanding glass standards which will be posted as a webpage rather than a technical publication. It is anticipated that this will be completed soon for final review by the AAMA Marketing Steering Committee.

A new task group called Do’s and Don’ts of Plant Safety will develop a document similar to the Preventing IG Failures manual for each area of the plant and for plant processes. It will be meeting this fall to start development of the manual. Information from prior safety webinars will be included in the new document.

The next IG Fabricator Workshop has been scheduled for Nov. 7 to 9 at the Intertek Test Facilities in Plano, Texas.  Registration for the fourth workshop is now available. Our Leadership Development Program launched in February and the sixth webinar has just been completed. All sessions have been recorded and registration is still available. Go to igmaonline.org for more information or to register for these events. •