Research and Development

Glaston’s customers operate in markets where the special requirements and characteristics of glass are continually developing. Moreover, production efficiency requirements are growing simultaneously. Owing to Glaston’s long-term experience, the company’s machines are pioneers both technologically and in terms of reliability.

Research and Development of Glaston is affected by several factors

Depending on the area of application, the key drivers of glass processing machine product development are as follows: increasing the energy efficiency of glass, the requirements for glass processing set by various coatings, improving the optical quality of glass, and the increasing size of glass surfaces. At the same time, production efficiency requirements are tightening: it is essential that glass can be processed faster and more cost-effectively than before, and without production breaks. In addition, enhancing the energy consumption of glass processing machines is one of the factors influencing Glaston’s product development.

In the architectural glass market, the ever-increasing size of glass surfaces and the simultaneous demand for ever-thinner glass as well as glass bendability have become key technical requirements. As glass sizes grow, the importance of glass energy efficiency increases significantly. Through larger glass sizes, Low-E coatings that reflect thermal radiation are becoming necessary, in practice, in order to save energy.

In the solar energy glass market, the key objectives for glass processing machines relate primarily to developing the optical quality, thickness and lamination of thin glass used in solar panels. In addition, the high reliability and continuity of the production process are also emphasised in product development.

Glaston has strong experience of glass processing machine development

The objective, in addition to new product launches, is to develop existing features of machines. Development work addresses all areas of glass processing machines, and the goal is to make products more reliable and to facilitate the addition of new features to machines already delivered. Glass processing machines have a long life cycle of about 20 years, which means that the possibility of adding new features is essential for maintaining the customer’s competitiveness: advanced features can be used to increase, in an energy efficient way, a machine’s capacity and up-to-date technological features, ensure trouble-free process control, and even promote the machine’s maintenance and serviceability.