Technology Insulating Glass
Insulating glass technology showcase – December 2018

Everything you need to supercharge your IG production process.

Corners in any material
lisec.com
LiSec has completely redesigned the BSV-B45NK bending machine to accommodate the new developments in spacer materials. Previously used technology for spacer bending has been further refined, allowing familiar spacers as well as new products to be bent for top quality. A new function of the bending machine is the integration of zero-radius corner technology. In addition to the familiar bent corners, spacers can now also be processed with this technology. LiSec has successfully brought to serial maturity a newly patented process, which allows tension-free, material-displacement manufacturing of 90-degree corners. The highlight of the zero-radius technology, which LiSec has developed specially for fibre-reinforced spacers, is the self-stiffening corner. It produces a dimensionally stable and perfectly formed 90-degree angle. A further advantage of this technology is the maximized butyl application area in the corner.  The zero-radius corner uses fibreglass-reinforced plastic spacers. The bending process is supported by a robotic arm. Processing of aluminium, steel, stainless steel, hybrid and fibreglass-reinforced profiles is possible with easy operation via touchscreen. The BSV-B45NK can produce shapes appearing in the LiSec shape catalogue. It uses a six-, eight- or 15-slot profile magazine.

Automate the big stuff
bystronic.com
The B’Jumbo XXL insulating glass production line from Bystronic glass measures 165 metres long and can automatically produce insulating glass up to 18 metres long, 3.3 metres high and a weight of up to 10 tonnes. Equipped with an edge-deletion robot, a glass plate washing machine, a turning station, six inspection and frame positioning stations, five assembly, gas-filling and press robots, a sealing robot and numerous conveyor belts, the B’Jumbo XXL is a complete line. Maximum individual glass thickness is 60 millimeters with an allowable package thickness for double or triple IG units of 150 millimeters. The integrated turning station can turn glass measuring up to 12 metres in length. The semi-automatic frame positioner can be used to position spacers measuring 18 metres onto the glass. In addition to rectangular formats, the machine is also able to produce all shaped formats as well as free shapes in accordance with the Bystronic glass shape catalogue. Despite the large dimensions, the line can be installed on a standard industrial floor so that special foundations are not required. The B’Jumbo XXL can also be used to produce up to four-sided stepped double or triple insulating glass units. In doing so, the maximum frame setback on the fourth step is 250 millimeters, up to 1,000 millimeters on the first step on the front edge of the glass and there are no dimension limits whatsoever on the second and third steps. Kinetic energy generated during the line’s braking processes is transformed into electrical energy then fed back into the system and distributed to the axles to save energy. The semi-automatic frame-positioner eliminates the human effort needed to place large-format spacer frames, automatically positioning them in the station and using grippers on the upper bar to automatically press the upper edge of the frame onto the glass. The integrated Jumbo’sealer XXL sealing robot uses a dynamic mixing system at reduced material pressures. With a flow rate of up to six litres per minute, it makes the utmost material volume available. The Jumbo‘sealer XXL is able to seal even deep spacer setbacks on rectangular units and shaped formats considerably quicker than other robots. The automatic material-changing system allows for operator-free changing of the sealing material – from polysulphide to silicone, for instance – inside of two minutes.

Handles non-planarity
forelspa.com
The market is moving more and more towards insulating glass with higher quality as well as large sizes. In response, Forel has developed its new Jumbo line for insulating glass, aimed at the production of glass for facades and special glass types with particular and dedicated requirements and construction features.  The result of this project is a line from Forel with improved performance and features in terms of weight, thicknesses and compensation for non-planarity of the processed glass sheets, aligned or stepped. The line is able to adapt itself to glass sheets that are not perfectly flat by as much as centimeters. Made up of a loading area, a coating removal station, a washing machine, an inspection and frame-mounting area, a 180-degree glass turning section, an assembling press with gas filling (argon and krypton) and an automatic sealer, the line was designed and built following a precise list of aims to be achieved. It can process single glass sheet of up to 40-millimeter thickness and insulating glass up to 100 millimeters. This requires a load capacity for finished products of up to 550 kilograms per linear meter. Structural stepped units can have a vertical offset of up to 250 millimeters and a leading horizontal offset of up to a meter. Processing of bowed glass up to 2.5 millimeters per linear meter is possible (adding up to 15 millimeters on six meters’ glass length). The sealing unit has the flexibility to use three different materials with a high continuous material flow rate of four litres per minute. Stepped units are assembled with the smaller glass in the front and unloaded via a dedicated glass unloading section.

Fast and full of features
gedusa.com
The Intercept i-3 from GED allows for just-in-time production in the order required without operator errors. It also eliminates internal muntin grid misalignment with precise notching and snap-in muntin clips. Users can produce spacers at a rate of up to 95 feet per minute (eight spacers per minute without muntins). Automatic width adjustment on all elements of the system gives fabricators lean manufacturing and flexibility while providing accurate, consistent high quality throughput with no manual intervention. Patented technology ensures the integrity of the fourth corner is identical to first three corners for a consistent product. The 10-station material uncoiler with automatic width adjustment uses a one-piece flow design to provide a spacer width changeover in as quick as 30 seconds.

Computer-controlled production and the U-channel spacer design produces superior thermal performance and durability. Integrated software allows batch information downloading. Automatic muntin location punching and a touchscreen control station are additional features.

Users can automatically change from Intercept Ultra to ThinPlate or BlackLine on the fly. The i3 allows automatic gas-hole punching of warm edge spacers for single or dual-hole filling. A simple graphical user interface screen reduces operator errors. The system is integrated with Intercept Corner Plus. Automatic remake capability allows the operator to remake frames with the push of a button. Multiple conveyor lengths are available.

Interface to any software
thermosealgroup.com
Warm edge spacer bar bending machines from Thermoseal are designed to reduce waste and improve productivity. They can bend aluminum and warm edge spacers creating triangle, pentagon, trapezium, a mix or any specific shapes desired. The machine has two corner finish options with the same bend tool: one for a traditional bend finish with a dished corner, and another to simulate a corner key joint on plastic spacer bars. The machine can optimize up to 500 different measures of work, considering the type, colour and width of spacer. The program can be interfaced with most glass cutting optimization programs, for instance, Perfect Cut, Optima, and Albat-Wirsam. Gas drilling is selectable and automatic. Cycle time on Thermobar is approximately 35 to 45 seconds dependent on the size of the spacer frame and the type of spacer, inclusive of cycle time for joining the ends together. The bending machine can bend four corners or three corners (cycle time quoted is for three bent corners). The system virtually eliminates waste spacer bar and uses only one standard corner key per frame (or a gas key if manual gas filling is required). Automatic loading and joining is possible using a straight steel connector.

Workable spacer sizes are 200 by 280 millimeters minimum and 1,500 by 2,450 millimeters maximum, though larger sizes are workable in two steps. The software link is bespoke to run with whatever software the buyer is already using. Data can be sent over a LAN, Wi-Fi or memory stick and an inkjet printer can be fitted if required. A gas-hole drilling option is available.

No silicone
glasslam.com
WorldSpacer flexible spacer is a flexible polyurethane tape spacer that provides superior warm-edge performance for insulating glass production. Worldspacer is a stainless steel, polyurethane flexible warm edge insulating glass spacer that holds heavy glass for commercial IG with excellent warm edge performance. It produces no outgassing of process oils and clean sightlines with an excellent moisture and gas barrier. Precision sizing is achievable from five to 50 millimeters. The stainless steel design provides excellent adhesion to all sealants. It may be used on automated lines or with hand applicators. WorldSpacer creates no silicone contamination inside the insulating glass units or on the moisture barrier.

Instant gas testing
sparklike.com
Sparklike Handheld devices enable non-invasive analysis for standard double-glazed insulating glass units. The device is portable and battery-operated, making it practical and quick-to-use with a measurement time of two seconds. The Sparklike Handheld (formerly known as the Gasglass Handheld) has become widely accepted for non-invasive measurement and used by IG manufacturers, window and door manufacturers, testing laboratories, building quality inspectors and construction consultants worldwide. The Handheld is a practical and quick method to test IG gas concentration. The technology is based on plasma emission spectroscopy. A high-voltage spark is launched into the IG unit’s cavity causing a light emission that is observed and analyzed further. Thanks to its small size, it is easy to get a fast reading of gas concentration, whether it’s argon or krypton. The user can simply place the device against the unit, press the button and receive an instant result with high accuracy.  The machine dimensions are just 265 by 190 by 90 millimeters, with a weight of 2 kilograms.