Multi-dimensional inspection innovations for the glass industry

Date: 5 November 2012

Simply the best for the glass industry: The innovation roadmap from the world leader in surface inspectionISRA VISION, the world leader in surface inspection systems, has for many years been investing significantly in the research and development sector.

Its close cooperation with customers and extensive knowhow in the branch has made it possible to consistently provide new innovations based on patented processes, which enable glass manufacturers to optimize the quality of their products, increase production efficiency and maximize revenue. ISRA has been building on these innovations in its focused expansion efforts as the global market leader in surface inspection technology and, in the glass sector, offers the most comprehensive range of products for optical glass inspection.

Competition on the international market is dominated by competition in innovation. In this respect, ISRA is doing everything right in consistently applying its winning formula for innovation: Invention plus customer orientation. Innovation means the ability to replace existing products and solutions already on the market with better products and solutions.

Better refers to advanced technology, which generally requires a significant investment in research and development. At ISRA, this investment equates to 10 % of revenue per annum. The applied technologies are often based on patented processes. The patented Multi-View – Multi-Mode – Multi-Dimensional technology, for example, combines highest resolution with real time defect detection and visualization to reliably identify even the smallest defects and thus ensure an unprecedented quality standard.

Better also means the presence of a tangible benefit for customers. The ISRA experts have systematically maximized their expertise in the industry based on over 25 years of experience in surface inspection technology. The linking of these two factors is the secret to the success of the world leader in surface inspection: real innovations which are proven to improve quality, increase production efficiency and maximize revenue for customers. The corporation has prepared an innovation roadmap that will expand even further its already huge advantage over the competition.

With these innovations, glass manufacturers are better equipped to meet the dramatically increased quality demands for glass products. With the increase in competition around the world, compromising surface quality has become a thing of the past. This is why glass manufacturers must be able to reliably monitor each and every production step.

The right system for all requirements

ISRA is the only provider worldwide to offer the perfect inspection and monitoring technology for all areas of glass production and processing, customized for each individual application. The product lines of SCREENSCAN for the automotive sector, FLOATSCAN for the inspection of float glass and POWERSCAN for the inspection of glass sheets, guarantee the ability to clearly detect all critical defects in every single processing stage of glass production. The systems also optimize the entire manufacturing process for glass products while assuring highest availability.

The final inspection of automotive glass is a good example: The glass sheets have to be flawless. Drivers must not be distracted by optical warps or scattered light caused by scratches. The corners of the sheet and the printed area must also be free from damage. SCREENSCAN-FINAL has been developed by ISRA VISION for the detection and objective evaluation of all these production defects in the manufacture of automotive glass. With its inspection modules, this fully automated, patented, in-line inspection system ensures a high, reliable and fully documented quality. The shape of curved glass is inspected using SCREENSCAN-FORMSCAN. For this purpose, the patented, non-contact, in-line measuring system uses more than one million 3D points on a windshield and can reliably check the entire shape within all typical cycle times.

In addition to the functional safety of a vehicle, the outer appearance now plays an ever more important role as a decisive emotional sales factor. With SCREENSCAN-RD (Reflected Distortion), it is now possible, as a world first, to perform in-line, objective evaluation of the surface quality of glass based on the reflection. The latest, patented processes are applied here. Previous, subjective assessment processes can now be replaced by the new measuring system.

A particularly difficult challenge is screen printing on glass. In addition to purely decorative color applications, silk-screen printing is also used in functional layering, such as placing defrosting wires in rear windows. SCREENSCAN-PRINTSCAN enables the automatic, optical, 100% in-line inspection of silk-screen printing processes applied to automotive glass. Further systems such as the SCREENSCAN-FAULTFINDER or SCREENSCAN-LABSCAN complete the product range in the automotive glass sector.

Five dimensions for the glass ribbon

Bubbles, stones, knots, tin defects, coating defects and optical quality defects such as streaks can restrict the use of the finished glass ribbon in float glass production. The new FLOATSCAN 5D detects 100% of these defects in real time, even with large web widths and high speeds.

FLOATSCAN 5D combines five optical channels in one system, which is unparalleled in the market of float glass inspection. The patented online Moiré technology measures optical refraction in the glass and therefore its distortion measurement is insensitive to environmental influences. With the new, patented inspection process based on Multi-Dimension, Multi-Mode and Multi-View technology, the system not only supplies the exact position of defects on the top and bottom surface, but also within the glass ribbon, whilst ensuring ultra-precise gauging and classification. This is supported by the latest patented LED technology which makes it possible to carry out the multi-dimensional inspection from various angles without the need for complex arrangements.

Additional systems: FLOATSCAN-HOTGAUGE, FLOATSCAN-STRESS, FLOATSCAN-COLDGAUGE, FLOATSCAN-LABSCAN and FLOATSCAN-COATING are also available for float glass inspection. This ensures that all requirements in the production of float glass are fully met.

Innovations for the inspection of glass sheets

The innovative POWERSCAN product line for glass sheets - comprising POWERSCAN-SHEET, POWERSCAN-DIMENSION, POWERSCAN-LAMINATION and EDGESTAR - has now been extended to include a system for the inspection of coated glass.

POWERSCAN-COATING is a system that detects the smallest color deviations and coating defects in all coating types and thus assures the highest quality with little effort. The coating is checked for inhomogeneity and color flow over the entire glass sheet. In this process, the color map is viewed and checked from various angles. The edges and shape are also checked and any glass defects identified. An important component which ensures increased functionality and performance is the unique LED illumination technology which provides a high light intensity and precise brightness. The LED lighting is dimmable, switchable and flashable and enables multi-angle viewing. All this with minimal maintenance effort and a long life cycle.

Further highlights include multi-dimensional inspection systems for solar glass and super-thin glass. The PATTERNSCAN inspection system for solar glass and pattern glass detects all defects in or on the glass, for example - directly in the manufacturing process as in the case of the PATTERNSCAN-RIBBON version, as well as in further processing with PATTERSCAN-SHEET.

The very latest technologies and one-of-a-kind industry expertise

The combination of the very latest technologies derived directly from continuous research, proven standard components and the one-of-a-kind industry knowledge of the ISRA experts, which is also the result of countless installations at customer locations, forms the basis of innovations which are then made available to the market.

The highly innovative ISRA inspection systems play a decisive role in the ability of glass manufacturers to not only guarantee that they can supply the highest quality products, but also to provide verification to back this guarantee. However, for a while now, inspection capabilities have not been the only issue. The patented solutions and systems offered by the leading technology supplier in the market assure significantly higher production efficiency. Specifically production processes are optimized. Customers benefit in many different ways when they choose the proven partner, who for many years has been the world´s market leader in surface inspection technology.

The new standard for the monitoring of float glass quality:

FLOATSCAN 5 – for optimal inspection and highest productivity with a short return-on-investment

For optimum throughput and maximized yield:

Crystal clear defect images thanks to ultra-fast, multi-mode LED lighting for multi-dimensional inspection using just one camera arrangement