Even if Socabelec has been working for the flat glass industry since 1965, we discovered the container glass hot end environment in 2011 developing the first swabbing-robot on the fly for blanks side, without stop of production neither rejection after swabbing.

Since the first swabbing-robot we continuously improved the performance of our swabbing-robot, to face new request for difficult articles.

Summary of innovations in the last few years to make glass melting more energy efficient and more convenient for the industry.

Wherever you look at, ‘Artificial Intelligence’ is an overriding theme, in our daily life and of course in the industry.

But what are the main benefits of AI, for real needs of glass makers?

Iris intelligent solutions connect each of the individual players within a value creation network. Iris aims at improving quality and productivity and meanwhile reducing carbon footprint and human skills dependence.

Iris’s use of AI technology is bringing lower costs and higher satisfaction to glass makers around the world. Furthermore, Iris now offers an AI-based innovation called iBot. iBot does not simply monitor and manage the optimisation of settings but goes beyond this, by integrating the prediction of process defects.

Embark on a transformative journey through longevity's principles in design and manufacturing, challenging planned obsolescence. With a rich 100-year legacy, Pneumofore champions durability, curbing unnecessary expenses and preserving resources.

Embrace a sustainable future with cutting-edge machines that minimise the carbon footprint. The company prioritises enduring quality while eliminating wasteful practices. Join Pneumofore in this presentation to unlock the potential of lasting solutions for a greener, more efficient world.

Rising energy costs remain a key issue in the container glass industry.

Those who manage to find solutions in these times, strengthen their own market position. In the bundle of Heye’s smart solutions portfolio the most famous one remains the NNPB technology, which results in considerable weight reductions with stable production and increased yields.

However, NNPB has higher requirements - modern NNPB production is more than just purchasing machinery. The larger portion is determined by expertise in procedures and the way how all the steps fit together. Only if all involved areas are properly trained and successfully implemented, a pay-back of the investment is realised.

Cars, domestic boilers and other not-so-energy-intensive devices have the law obligation of periodical checks to verify their energy and environmental performances. A common glass furnace absorbs more than 10 MW of power for its operation. Should not we check that as well? How much heat (and money) is wasted with the furnace fumes? Is there any anomaly in the furnace operation? What can be done to improve both the existing performance and those for the next furnace rebuilding without affecting the glass quality? There is only one answer: detect and analyse your furnace performance.

CelSian’s Energy Balance Model (EBM) is a fast simulation tool to support furnace engineering and operation. The ‘EBM digital twin’ of your furnace enables you to find optimal settings for energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. In addition, it is used to build business cases for the implementation of energy-, CO₂-, and cost-saving measures like, for example, alternative raw materials, near-stoichiometric firing, and increased electric boosting.

As the EBM digital twin is also equipped with a control loop, it assists in finding the best settings for the PID set-points of your glass furnace control variables, enabling reproducible and robust furnace operation.

There is a generational shift happening in the glass industry as seasoned furnace managers retire. However, the rising cost of capital has expanded the need for expertise on how to optimise campaign life. Digitisation, when implemented properly, can preserve furnace knowledge and equip a young labour force to make data-driven decisions that rival their experienced predecessors.

However, these programmes often fail because of a misstep in the implementation process. This presentation will explain a proven process for making data the centre of furnace management through digital transformation. Dr Bayram will explain the five phases of digitisation and demonstrate how PaneraTech is using technology, data, and expertise to support glass manufacturers through this transition.

The glass industry faces new challenges in 2023/2024. In the short term, there will be the distraction of delays in refractory delivery and challenges of extending the furnace beyond scheduled repair. For the long-term, the challenge is decarbonisation and meeting COP26 goals.

Only by understanding the current operation can design improvements and/or provisions be made in the future. The value of the NIR-B imager, with IMAGEPro Glass V2 software, could support short-term benefits by increasing yield/pull rates, and reducing energy and emission immediately.

According to some, one of the most likely short-term outcomes will be hybrid hot top oxy electric furnaces, potentially with hydrogen or biofuels. In all combustion cases, from hydrogen to oils, an in-furnace thermal camera can be used to optimise the process and monitor combustion space refractory conditions.

High-temperature filters are key components in emission control and heat recovery solutions. In many thermal process facilities, the clean-up stage cools the off gases to low temperatures insufficient for re-use.

Cleaning off gases at elevated temperatures up to 1400°F allows to re-use the gas in thermal processes or to generate electricity.

Nowadays, to reduce the footprint of the emission control equipment, the hot gas filters can be equipped with ceramic filter elements with a length up to 20 ft.

The new generation of the longer filter elements lowers the capital investment costs keeping the important functions of particulate removal and selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides.

The presentation compares the improved emission control system with the conventional solution, introduces the range of available filter element lengths and reviews the lessons learned and the keys to a reliable operation and long lifetime of filter elements.

Novaxion, founded in 2005, originally offered gathering robots for handcraft and semi-automatic glassware production.

It later introduced a high-performance swabbing robot. It also offers swabbing solutions for blank moulds and neck rings on IS machines, having shipped over 130 units worldwide.

Novaxion provides three swabbing robot versions, with a focus on cable chain management. Its specialisation lies in automatic, blank mould and neck ring swabbing, distinguishing them from other approaches. It equips robots with thermal cameras for temperature monitoring, remote support, and comprehensive data collection.