LiSEC will have on show its new solutions for the glass processing industry at glasstec, both at systems level and automation level, on a stand with a 2,000 square metre presentation area, designed to show the path from industry climbers (base product range) to corporations with high-end integrated production lines.
LiSEC will present new solutions for the glass processing industry at glasstec, both at the systems level and at the automation level. “This time, we have decided to emphasise the core elements of systems, and in particular to emphasise the components that make up the solution or which make it unique, alongside lines that will be operating at the stand,” explains Alexander Kronsteiner, Head of Product Management at LiSEC. In this way, we will be able to explain our innovations to our visitors in more detail. We therefore offer insights into the topic of mechatronics for the first time via our “mechatronics insight” presentation. Peter Holzinger, Managing Director and Head of Sales: “The LiSEC stand design for the 2,000 square metre presentation area is designed in a way that will enable us to show the path from industry climbers (base product range) to corporations with high-end integrated production lines; we will pick up each visitor from wherever they are at the moment.”
LiSEC will present a new product range at the 2014 glasstec trade fair. The series is called base and comprises lines and individual machines for emerging markets, i.e. small to medium-sized companies and growing flat-glass processing businesses in high-growth markets. Othmar Sailer, CEO of the LiSEC Group: “LiSEC is very successful in the high-end segment. We now want to offer our technology and experience in other segments as well.”
Besides two production lines (an insulating glass line and a glass cutting line), the base series from LiSEC also includes other machinery like break-out tables, washing machines, assembly presses, bending machines, automatic butyl application machines, etc.; everything that is required to cut flat glass and further process into insulating glass. Sailer: “Products in the base range provide LiSEC quality at an affordable price. Our goal is to grow with new customers in new markets or market segments and make our operational know-how available to a larger market. The cardinal rule here: We are successful thanks to satisfied customers in every segment.”
The machines in the base series distinguish themselves through their heavy-duty design and easy operation, and they are also designed to be easy to install. The commercial effectiveness of the series does not stop there: Spare parts are low-cost and service and maintenance work can be completed easily in most cases. Sailer: “We’re consciously introducing this product line under the LiSEC brand, since if LiSEC is written on it, this guarantees a high price-performance ratio throughout the product’s life cycle. This also applies to base products. In terms of quality and performance, we are uncompromising; the additional claim ‘engineered by LiSEC’ makes this point clear.”
LiSEC has re-engineered the vertical sealing machines of the VFL series, and the result is clear. With the new VFL system, dubbed “CleanSeal”, even less effort is required overall to eliminate or prevent contaminants, and the sealing quality of the corners is considerably improved. This results in significantly reduced production times.
LiSEC washing machines now feature automatic infinitely variable brush adjustment, which allows them to maintain consistent contact pressure on the glass sheets at all times. Consistent contact pressure ensures that the glass sheets are not scratched, which is especially important for coated glass sheets. This far gentler operation extends the service life of the brushes, while also providing the optimum cleaning effect.
For the new generation of washing machines, LiSEC engineers have developed a new drying system which allows the sheets to be dried even faster than before. Alexander Kronsteiner, Head of Product Management at LiSEC: “The new drying system works so well that it is possible to install a quality scanner immediately after the drying station.”
Until recently, the main washing station and the drying station in LiSEC washing machines were two separate elements that were integrated at the customer’s location. With machines from the new series, these have been combined into a single module consisting entirely of stainless steel, which saves more than just space. Since the seals between the two elements are no longer required, this solution is also cleaner overall.
Perfectly moulded sealing without stress thanks to the high-quality processing of thermoplastic spacers using a newly developed system called TPA, which stands for ‘thermo-plastic applicator’. This involves a fully-automatic system for applying thermo-plastic spacers directly on the glass sheet. “During the development of this system, three things were very important to us,” explains Alexander Kronsteiner, Head of Product Management. “First of all, we recognised from the start that this could never be an independent system, but rather that the direct application of TPS would require a well thought-out production process in advance. Secondly, the stability of the system is very important to us, and finally, we enable a visually undetectable sealing, a nearly ‘endless’ application of the spacer.”
The LiSEC TPA system enables sealing during the application of TPS that is hardly visible when integrated on the one hand, and that also ensures that the spacer is applied absolutely gas-tight on the other hand. To do so, the spacer material is pressed carefully into a mould chamber at the sealing position in a single step.
In order to make this approach perfect in reality, LiSEC offers the solution as a line concept. This is most suitable for process steps like assembly, gas filling, and pressing, which have special requirements during TPS application. In this case, LiSEC’s patented system plays a special role, whereby the gas is filled without swirling from below and without the need for bending the glass sheets.
Alongside these highlights, innovations and further developments of the LiSEC systems for flat glass processing and glass tempering will be presented. Furthermore, LiSEC will also display new solutions for automation. These allow to simplify our customers’ processes or to provide more and more precise information about the production sequences and the production quality.