Emhart Glass announces Safety enhancement to its IS machines

Emhart Glass is pleased to announce three improvements to its IS machines that will improve safety and make operations easier.
During 2012, all IS and AIS machines will be enhanced with the addition of P-Switches, programmable stop cycles, and a new Electro Pneumatic Valve Block (EPVB) with safety flaps to cover blow-side manual overrides.
The new pneumatic P-Switch (patent pending) replaces the existing ‘mushroom’-type P-Snap. Conveniently located within easier reach, it provides an easier, safer way for operators on the blow side to ensure that machine movement is inhibited so that the blow MOC remains in the ‘open’ position, and that the blowhead remains in the ‘up’ position.
During normal operation, the P-Switch, together with a special programmable cycle, makes it far easier for the operator to match the required time window and remove collapsed containers from blow molds quickly and safely. (Previously, the operator had to operate the P-Snap with one foot, raising the risk of slipping.) It also makes section interventions (to change blow molds and other forming equipment), job changes and repairs far quicker and easier.
The 26-line EPVB features safety flaps covering the manual overrides on the blow side. This means that a two-handed blank-side operation is required for blow-side override events, preventing overrides from being triggered accidentally. However, in the unlikely event that any overrides should be activated by mistake, the new P-Switch will still prevent any motion.
All these safety enhancements are now fitted as standard on all IS and AIS machines manufactured by Emhart Glass.
For more information please consult the publication library on the Emhart Glass website www.emhartglass.com/library, Technical News Bulletin Number 212.
   
Minimize News

FlexRadar

Emhart Glass launches FlexRadar Forming Process Analyzer
Emhart Glass is pleased to announce the launch of the FlexRadar Forming Process Analyzer, a standalone system for identifying quality issues in real time, delivering higher pack rates and improved flexibility.
FlexRadar uses high-resolution infrared technology to spot deviations and quality issues in the glass-forming process as they occur. It monitors container geometry, glass distribution, and conveyor position, identifying containers that fall outside standard quality criteria.
Issues identified by FlexRadar include uneven cooling, uneven/wedge bottom, choke neck, lean, stuck ware, down ware and more.
By providing truly instant quality feedback on the forming process, FlexRadar allows glassmakers to receive early warnings about quality issues – and uncover previously unseen improvements.
The system comprises two SWIR (Short Wavelength Infrared) imagers, an Interactive Operator Interface with 19” color LCD touchscreen, an air-reject assembly and an Intelligent Control Unit, which supplies power and signals for the SWIR imagers and the Interactive Operator Interface. The Intelligent Control Unit is also available in an air-conditioned version.
The SWIR imagers acquire images of each passing container, which are displayed live on the overview screen of the Interactive Operator Inferface. Icons are used to visually highlight problem areas and reject information beside each container image. Line speed and pack rate per cavity are also displayed.
Additional screens show horizontal and vertical glass distribution, quality warnings and detailed information on a specific cavity or section. Integrated help screens guide the user through each system function.
FlexRadar can be installed on any production line, and supports speeds of up to 1000 containers per minute. It is compatible with the full range of colors, unusual shapes and multiple production (using the Multi Gob Weight System).
FlexRadar is available now from Emhart Glass and more information can be found on the Emhart Glass website and in Technical News Bulletin Number 190.

   
Minimize News

Emhart Glass launches FlexIS Ware Handling Supervision

Emhart Glass is pleased to announce the launch of a new addition to its FlexIS integrated control system: Ware Handling Supervision, or WHS.
WHS is a ware-sensing system that automatically detects and rejects substandard glass containers at the hot end of the production line.
WHS uses a light barrier to identify cullet (broken wares), ‘stuck’ and ‘down’ wares on the conveyor belt. A pneumatic air-reject system then removes the unwanted ware from the conveyor before it can cause jams in subsequent stages of the production line, such as the hot-end coating tunnel and transfer wheel.
The light barrier consists of a transmitter and a photoelectric sensor, both protected with a heat shield. The sensor is mounted on a movable plate to allow for easy alignment. Both modules are cooled and cleaned with compressed air.
The pneumatic reject unit is highly accurate and reliable, allowing it to operate at very high speeds. The FlexIS is connected to the light barrier via the hot-end distributor box.
WHS is completely integrated into the FlexIS control system, with the facility to enter a wide range of parameters including nominal bottle width, tolerance bottle width, reject duration and minimum bottle distance. The system provides data on the actual bottle width and bottle space, as well as the number of rejected bottles and the cause.
WHS can be installed on any IS machine equipped with FlexIS timing with WHC Ware Handling Controller.

   
Minimize News

Emhart Glass launches Advanced Take Out Tong Holder and Insert

Emhart Glass is pleased to announce the expansion of its range of ware-handling accessories with the launch of a new Take Out Tong Holder and Insert.
The new Take Out Tong Holder uses an improved insert material: DuPont™ Vespel® SCP5050, which is specially designed for contact with sensitive glass containers.
Vespel® was first used by Emhart Glass in a Pusher Finger Liner last year, where it quickly proved its worth. In the Take Out Tong Holder Insert, it helps to reduce checks, cut operating costs and minimise production disturbances. It offers superior strength, oil absorption and thermal conductivity, and lasts up to four times as long as traditional carbon graphite inserts.
In the event of a section jam, the Vespel® insert results in fewer breakages. This helps to maximise uptime, in line with the needs of modern, high-performing glass container plants.
Installing and exchanging the unit is fast and simple, while the insert can be changed without the use of tools. This reduces upfront cost and time-consuming maintenance.
The Take Out Tong Holder is 100% compatible with existing Emhart Glass equipment and uses the industry standard take out interface and is available in two variants: with an insert custom finished to customers’ specifications (part number 800-1000-1), or with a semi-finished Vespel® blank ready to be machined to fit the required container design (800-10003). Vespel® can be finished with standard equipment used for carbon graphite or metal.
The new Take Out Tong Holder and Insert are available now.

   
Minimize News

Emhart Glass launches New Generation Neck Ring Mechanism

Emhart Glass is pleased to announce a new generation of Neck Ring Mechanisms.
The new Neck Ring Mechanisms feature closing forces increased by 20%, optimised airflow for improved synchronisation motion and a fine-thread screw for greater T-nut clamping force. The tapered pin assembly has been replaced with a strong, standardised retaining ring assembly.
The new design offers higher clamping force for the Neck Ring Holder Arm, and opens up the possibility of higher revert speeds. It allows for balanced opening of right and left Neck Ring Cylinders, leading to fewer finish checks. The increased stiffness also enables improved precision, and the unit as a whole is far easier to service.
The Neck Ring Mechanism is fully interchangeable with existing mechanisms. Old and new versions of the mechanism can be operated side by side on the same machine. However, many of the individual parts within the new mechanism are not compatible with earlier versions.
The new mechanism has the part number 191-5149-11. It is fully compatible with the existing Neck Ring numbered 19-5149-9, the production of which will be discontinued when the new mechanism launches in Q2 2012.
A Quick Change version has also been developed, offering the same feature set. It will bear the part number 191-5149-12 (replacing 191-5149-10) and launch in Q3 2012.

   
Minimize News

Emhart Glass launches Multi Gob Weight System

Emhart Glass, the leading global supplier of machinery and equipment to the glass manufacturing industry, is pleased to announce the launch of its new Multi Gob Weight System.
The Multi Gob Weight System allows for unparalleled flexibility of glass-container production when used in conjunction with Emhart Glass’ 555 Feeder, 565 Shear and FlexIS Feeder Control Software.
The new system controls both the feeder and the shear, giving a choice of gob weight and shape. As a result, each section of a forming machine (whether IS, AIS, NIS or BIS) can produce an item of individual weight and shape. The multi-motion profile plunger and shear are both controlled and monitored from a single screen. Settings are simple, intuitive and largely self-explanatory.
There are many benefits for glassmakers. Production can be closely aligned with demand, in terms of both quantity produced and time of manufacture. This optimizes the utilization of machines, and minimizes the need to hold stock. Production can also be adjusted precisely to the supply of glass available, optimizing furnace output.
With the Multi Gob Weight System, a short-notice job can be accommodated without halting an existing run. One or more sections can be reassigned to the rush job, while the others continue as previously. Small quantities can be handled without equipping the entire machine with moulds, or leaving some sections standing idle.
The Multi Gob Weight System can also be used to test a new set of mould equipment, or to make sampling runs on a single section without interrupting normal production.
‘I’m very pleased to present our Multi Gob Weight System to the glassmaking industry,’ comments Angelo DiNitto, Product Manager at Emhart Glass. ‘Customers are increasingly telling us they need the capability to handle shorter runs and rapid job changes, or the option to handle different weights on the same machine. And that’s exactly what this innovation delivers. I believe it will help our customers move to a much more flexible, responsive mode of production – and achieve a competitive edge in their markets as a result.’

   
Minimize News

Emhart Glass launches ISIS Wall Thickness Gauge

Emhart Glass is pleased to announce the availability of the Wall Thickness Gauge option for the ISIS Dimensional Gauge, an integral part of its MiniLab Glass Container Measurement System. This new option provides the ability for automated mold-correlated wall thickness measurement of glass containers on a sampling basis.
The Wall Thickness Gauge uses a single non-contact chromatic sensor with a 10μm spot size to measure the wall thickness of glass containers from 1 to 10mm with a repeatability of ±0.15mm. A servo-controlled linear slide automatically keeps the chromatic sensor at optimal distance from the surface of round and non-round containers during the entire measurement sequence.
Once installed and calibrated the Wall Thickness Gauge does not require any mechanical adjustment. When creating a job, the operator simply specifies the distance from the top or base of the container the different wall thickness measurements should be performed. Up to nine locations can be specified, each with different diameter and min/max limit values. The ISIS elevator automatically positions the container in front of the sensor at the specified locations. The wall thickness is measured 360 degrees around the container at each location.
The Wall Thickness Gauge is available as option on new ISIS machines and as a field upgrade for any machine already in operation.

   
Minimize News

Emhart Glass launches 182 Cast Iron Cross Conveyor

Emhart Glass, the leading global supplier of machinery and equipment to the glass manufacturing industry, is pleased to announce the launch of its new 182 Cast Iron Cross Conveyor.
The 182 Cross Conveyor features a simple design based around a unique cast-iron girder available in lengths of 4–7.5m (in 0.5m steps). Lengths over 5.5m are supplied in two pieces connected with a jointing plate.
The use of an iron girder reduces vibrations and minimizes distortion due to heat. It also reduces installation service requirements and is built to last for many years. In contrast with traditional aluminium and fabricated steel cross conveyors, the 182 needs no fluid cooling, reducing cost and completely avoiding the risk of girder distortion due to failed cooling.
The 182 Cross Conveyor includes stainless-steel dead plates (easily adjustable for tilt and rock), and can be precisely attached to the end of the machine conveyor for an exact transition. It also features hardened spring-steel wear plates and a 6” (152.4mm) silent chain belt, with a gear ratio that caters for belt speeds from 6m/min to 72m/min.
The Conveyor is compatible with a range of different lehr widths and heights, and four different heights of support are available. Supports are predesigned to accommodate cooling piping for servo motors, which is available as an option.
‘Our new 182 Cast Iron Cross Conveyor is another innovation that will make life much easier for glassmakers,’ comments Jarmo Kammonen, Product Manager at Emhart Glass. ‘As well as offering better, more stable container handling, it’s easy to install and has no running costs for cooling. It’s a “one size fits all” solution, ready to work with any lehr, and it’s built to last. I’m excited about this new product and I think our customers will be too.’

   
Minimize News

Emhart Glass celebrates its centenary

Emhart Glass, the leading supplier of machines, controls, and parts to the glass container industry worldwide, is pleased to announce that 2012 is its centenary year.
Emhart Glass dates its birth to 1912, when Hartford-Fairmont was founded in Hartford, Connecticut by pioneering engineers Bill Lorenz, William Honiss and Karl Peiler. The company was created to market Peiler’s revolutionary design for the paddle-gob feeder, which used gravity to automatically feed molten glass into moulds. Its successors went on to become the industry standard for glass feeding.
In 1924, the firm became ‘Hartford-Empire’ and patented the IS (‘individual section’) machine for automatically manufacturing glass containers. This too became an industry standard, quickly displacing rival technologies, and was continuously developed and refined over the following decades. Incredibly, the core technologies developed by Hartford-Empire for feeding and glass-forming remain essentially unchanged to this day.
Hartford-Empire developed quickly, selling and licensing its machines throughout the US and Europe. The 1940s saw the firm’s first moves into automated inspection, as well as the first of many acquisitions that would turn the company into a major industrial group.
Renaming itself ‘Emhart’ and later Emhart Glass, the firm built a Europe-wide sales and manufacturing operation from the 1950s on, with plants and branches in Switzerland, Germany, Italy and the UK. The acquisition of Swedish manufacturer Sundsvalls Verkstäder in 1952 was an important milestone in these globalisation efforts. During the 70s and 80s, it was followed by the first sales and service operations in the Far East. In 1987, the group transferred its headquarters to Switzerland.
In recent years, Emhart Glass has launched NIS, the world’s first completely servoelectric glassmaking technology, and FlexIS, the glass industry’s first fully integrated control system. A Research Centre was built in Windsor in 2007 including a fully functional glass plant, and a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility opened in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, in the following year. In 2011, Emhart Glass struck a landmark joint venture with Shandong Sanjin Glass Machinery Co, China’s undisputed leader for glass machinery.
‘I’m very proud to be part of a company with such a long and impressive history,’ comments Martin Jetter, Emhart Glass’ President. ‘It’s humbling to look back at what our predecessors achieved – they had such brilliant ideas, and they built up such a strong and enduring business too. Our challenge today is to live up to their legacy by serving our customers with new ways to improve the technologies we’ve inherited – and to add to them with innovations of our own, for the benefit of our customers and the entire glass industry.’

   
Minimize News

Emhart Glass launches 570 Servo Feeder Plunger Mechanism

Emhart Glass is pleased to announce the launch of the 570 Servo Feeder Plunger Mechanism.
The 570 is the successor to the long-serving 555 Feeder Plunger, and offers improved reliability and reduced maintenance. The increased rigidity of the unit delivers smoother, more positive operation, while its lightweight design means that it can easily be exchanged rather than making time-consuming repairs in situ.
In place of the 555’s air-spring systems, the 570 features a carefully calibrated encapsulated mechanical spring. This ensures that the mechanism is always raised with optimum precision, while also delivering increased uptime and a longer overall lifetime for the unit.
The 570 is a direct replacement for the 555, and can be used for all Emhart Glass servo-feeder mechanisms by selecting the appropriate plunger-banjo assembly. A universal mounting bracket allows for quick, easy installation.
The 570 Servo Plunger Mechanism is available now under part number 570-1000-1.

   
Minimize News