ISRA VISION: 100% quality control in flat glass production

Flat glass must be free from even the smallest scratches, inclusions, and inhomogeneities in the coating before delivery to the customer. This places the highest demands on production and quality control. In order to achieve end-to-end surface inspection, Şişecam Trakya Glass Bulgaria EAD, a company belonging to the Şişecam Group, has recently installed a P2 (PowerPlate) – Coating System from ISRA VISION.

This provides the leading European manufacturer of coated flat glass products with important measured values for optimizing production parameters and reduces complaints to a minimum. The result: highly efficient production, less waste, and a considerable improvement in customer satisfaction.

The objective was to completely do away with optical inspection if possible, while at the same time improving precision and reliability. Damage and dirt needed to be detected just as reliably as production defects in the products manufactured using the float glass process. “Previously, we relied on both automatic inspection and manual, optical inspections of the products,” said Hasan Ismail, Production Manager. “It is very difficult and time-consuming to detect the smallest defects using this method. On top of that, damage frequently occurs during the glass handling of the quality control process itself. We wanted to avoid that with the new system.”

As the company was already using numerous systems from ISRA VISION in its float lines – the Şişecam Trakya Glass Bulgaria EAD has more than 50 installations in total – it opted for an ISRA PowerPlate system (P2). P2 (PowerPlate) – Coating was developed specifically to meet the demands in the optical inspection of coated glass panes and stands out from the competition thanks to its precision, efficiency, and profitability. Thanks to the combination of different camera angles, multispectral imaging, and complex evaluation algorithms, the solution recognizes 100% of defects.

The tiniest scratches, holes, and sealing ring marks on the glass panes are detected, as are coating defects and inhomogeneities over large areas. As a result, further manual inspection is no longer necessary. At the same time, the system at Şişecam Trakya enables the continuous improvement of the production process.

“The system at our plant recognizes and classifies all production defects absolutely reliably – we are delighted with it and convinced we made the right choice. We use the measurement results from the system to continuously adapt and improve our production parameters. This works very quickly and effectively – and it saves us hard cash, as we produce far less waste,” explained the Production Manager. Therefore, easy-to-use user-friendliness is a great help. Şişecam′s customers are also more satisfied because only perfectly coated glass panes leave the plant. Should a customer have any questions despite all of this, the manufacturer can trace the quality control results for each produced pane of glass. All values are saved and archived in order to guarantee traceability – another important prerequisite of an inline inspection system.

The production facilities of Şişecam Trakya Glass Bulgaria EAD now feature the new P2 (PowerPlate) -Coating alongside 5D FLOATSCAN systems, FLOATSCAN-Hotgauge systems, and other camera-based inspection systems from ISRA VISION. “We have had very good experiences with ISRA VISION in the past,” said Hasan Ismail. “ISRA is very proactive when it comes to developing new technologies for glass inspection. In addition, after installing the systems the company has always assisted us with outstanding service and support here at our premises,” he continued.

To further optimize production processes in the future, the two companies want to continue their collaboration. Ismail said, “We are planning to use the data from the inspection system even more effectively and determine correlations between production parameters and inspection results, for instance. To achieve that, we are placing our trust in the experts from ISRA VISION.”

P2 (PowerPlate) – Coating Systems help ensure that every glass plate/plane production achieves the highest possible efficiency. The automated 100 oercent quality inspection leads to reduced operating costs and high product quality – the perfect formula for success, a quick return on investment and clear competitive advantages.