Competition

SAFETY GLASS TECHNOLOGY CHANGES 

 

”ROLLER HEART FURNACES” 
  • Were invented by Mr. Harold McMaster of GLASSTECH Inc. His inventions dominated also flat tempering and bending and tempering furnace until 1980’ies. It was maybe the most profitable company in the world as patents lasted!  
FLAT GLASS TEMPERING

The first competitors of GLASSTECH Inc  was Tamglass Engineering Oy  whose products development director Pauli Reunamäki.  And finally ruled radiation heating tempering furnaces with HTF furnaces and HTBS, 1980’ies. Then came low emissive glasses in the market in 1990.  At the same time stopped Tamglass Engineering Oy inventiveness.  The name was changed to GLASTON Oyj.  It has not invented in last 35 years nothing. 

Many western companies tried.  Everyone failed.  Engineer Alberto Bertolini invented a great idea. Lets make make a convection + radiation process.   Ex-Tamglass engineer copied HTF radiation heated furnace and added convection to it.  For a great success it was christened CONVAIR.  CONV for convection, A for and,  IR for irradiation. Its capacity was for 5 mm clear glass 26 loads/hour and for triple silver glass only 5% higher.      

    • In about 1996 were Tamglass/GLASTON competed with ”ProConvection” with compressed air convection.  Tamlass/GLASTON tried  to compete with CONVAIR .  ”ProConvection” was sold few furnaces.  Then it was finished.    
    • In about 1996 sold Cattin quickly sold 5 convection heating furnaces. Tamglass bought Cattin immediately.  Cattin furnaces fiascos. They were replaced by HTF furnaces.
    • GLASSROBOTS ”RoboTemp” made in 2003.  The same ex-engineer who copied HTF furnaces to CONVAIR.  He was the father of  ”CONVAIR” and ”RoboTemp”.  In 2003 were thought that long heaters were necessary like in HTF furnaces.   It  GLASTON turbo charged convection named ”SONIC”.  SONIC process was fiasco.
    • GLASTON FC-series started in 2010.  It had proper matrix heating for convection air. FC-series is otherwise a copy of CONVAIR and RoboTemp.  Marketing and sales were a great success.  With false sales arguments.  Increasement of capacity was 40% and up to decrease of energy consumption was 30%. In reality of it was in the level RADIATION TYPE FURNACES  without ”heat transfer plate” explained in FLAT GLASS TEMPERING:   The air circulation illustration below.  The photo below is mislead of customers and competitors  It was made in this was. It would be the fiasco, if made in this way. GLASTON tries to keep “high-tech technology” image by articles like https://www.glassonweb.com/article/thermal-radiation-and-forced- convection-flat-glass-tempering-furnaces.   This article has been removed.
  • The article like https://glaston.net/releases/?id=BF9AE34FEE811B86 look like green washing from a company.  

 

RADIATION TYPE FURNACES 

Energy efficiency and capacity are very bad for low emissivity glasses.  Accuracy of heating control is very bad because it is far from glass surface.  It should be hot air       matrix for low emissive glasses.  Radiation type furnaces break glass in the furnace and in tempering section.  See articles my articles of heating control.        

  •  South Technology Co., Ltd is one more big manufacturer in China. They replaced compressed air convection by a “turbo” to reduce energy consumption. However, South Glass turbo is weak convection compared to GLASTON SONIC.  This is why it works like ”RADIATION TYPE FURNACES”. Other Chinese manufactures follow quickly. 
  •  Radiation furnaces, like GLASTON RC-furnaces and MAPPI good, but profitability is low and very bad for low emissive glasses.