Laser triangulation can be used to measure the surface curvature of glass lites, which is particularly important in automotive glass manufacturing. The alpha.ws system measures independent of temperature and thus enables 100% inspection, even immediately after the bending furnace. The early stage inspection of the curvature of the glass surface is an essential part of a cost-effective value chain, especially with complex curvature geometry and narrow tolerance fields. Rejects are not further processed and production costs are reduced.

According to the current state of the art, two bending processes are mainly used for the production of windshields: gravity bending and press bending. In both processes, the lites cut into shape are passed through a furnace in which a defined spatial and time-dependent temperature profile acts on the lites. In gravity bending, the lite is transported on a frame and slowly heated in the furnace section, whereby the gravitational force bends the lite heated to the glass transition temperature into the desired shape. During press bending, a negative mould is used to press the heated glass lite into the desired shape. During gravity bending, mainly pairs of lites are bent with a powder separation layer in between, while press bending is used for bending singlets.

alpha.ws is a measuring system that can be easily integrated into existing production lines. The sensors used are factory calibrated and do not require any recurring adjustment during operation. alpha.ws can be operated both online and offline. The short cycle time guarantees 100% inspection without slowing down production. HUD - areas can be measured more closely meshed as an option.

The easy-to-use software offers the greatest possible flexibility in production. New windshield types can be defined by the customer in recipes. The number of characteristics and recipes is unlimited. Interfaces for qs-STAT evaluation or CSV outputs are optionally available.

alpha.ws has been used worldwide for more than 15 years in three-shift operation for quality control and control of the furnace process.

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