The glass loading system is a highly automated solution designed to accurately and safely pick up and load glass sheets from storage areas, conveyor lines or other production stages to designated locations, such as cutting tables, edge grinders, washing machines, tempering furnaces, or transport frames. It replaces traditional manual handling, greatly improves efficiency, reduces breakage rates and ensures operational safety.
A complete glass loading system usually consists of the following key parts:
1.Glass raw sheet storage area/loading position:
It can be a glass A-frame, horizontal glass material rack, vertical glass storage warehouse or directly connected to the upstream conveyor line.
For large-scale automated warehousing systems, it may include multi-layer stereoscopic shelves and automatic storage and retrieval equipment (AS/RS).
2.Glass picking manipulator (or gantry suction cup hoist):
Gantry vacuum suction cup hoist: For scenes with oversized, overweight glass sheets or large-scale linear handling, the gantry (truss) structure is more suitable. Multiple vacuum suction cups are installed on it to achieve stable adsorption and horizontal and vertical movement of the glass.
Robotic arm + truss combination: Some systems use a gantry as the main horizontal moving platform, and install one or more small multi-joint robotic arms underneath it to provide higher local flexibility.
3.Vacuum suction cup system (end effector):
This is a key component for glass loading. The number and arrangement of suction cups are customized according to the size and weight of the glass to ensure uniform adsorption and prevent the glass from bending or breaking.
Suction cup material: Usually soft, wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant rubber or silicone is selected to ensure a close fit with the glass surface without leaving any marks.
Vacuum generator: A high-performance vacuum pump or Venturi vacuum generator provides stable and fast vacuum adsorption.
Vacuum pressure sensor: Real-time monitoring of the vacuum degree in the suction cup. Once it is lower than the safety threshold, the system will sound an alarm or stop automatically to prevent the glass from falling off.
Power failure or gas source interruption protection: Designed with safety mechanisms such as vacuum accumulators or mechanical self-locking to ensure that the glass will not fall suddenly in unexpected situations.
4.Vision System:
Glass positioning: 2D or 3D vision systems are used to accurately identify the position, size and angle of glass in the storage area or conveyor line, guiding the robot to perform high-precision grasping.
Edge detection/defect detection: Advanced systems can identify the edges and corners of glass, and even detect defects on the glass surface (such as scratches, cracks, foreign objects) before loading to prevent unqualified products from entering the next process.
Multi-piece separation: For multi-layer stacked glass, the vision system can help ensure that only the top layer is grabbed.
Advantages
1.Extremely high precision and stability: Ensure that the glass is free of vibration, scratches and breakage during the entire loading process, significantly reducing the breakage rate.
2.Greatly improve production efficiency: Achieve 24/7 uninterrupted automated operation with high speed and high repeatability, greatly improving the automation level and production capacity of the glass production line.
3.Significantly reduce labor costs and labor intensity: Glass handling is heavy physical labor and there is a risk of scratching. The system replaces manual labor, reduces labor demand, and improves the working environment.
4.Improve safety: Free workers from the dangerous environment of handling sharp and fragile glass, and avoid industrial accidents caused by fatigue or improper operation.
5.Improve product quality: Automated operation reduces fingerprints, scratches and secondary pollution caused by manual contact, ensures the cleanliness of the glass surface, and improves the product qualification rate.
6.Deal with large-size/heavy glass: For large-size and overweight glass that is difficult to handle manually, the automation system is the only solution.
7.Production flexibility: By replacing the suction cup and adjusting the program, it can adapt to the handling of glass of different sizes, shapes and types.
Application field
Glass loading system is widely used in various links of glass deep processing industry:
1.Architectural glass: Front-end loading of cutting line, edge grinding line, washing line, tempering line and hollow line of door and window glass, curtain wall glass, sun room glass, etc.
2.Automotive glass: Loading of automotive windshield and side window glass.
3.Display panel: Loading, transferring and stacking of liquid crystal, OLED display glass substrate and cover glass.
4.Photovoltaic industry: Loading of solar panel glass.
5.Home appliance industry: Loading glass panels of home appliances such as refrigerators and ovens.
6.Special glass: Precision loading of optical glass and laboratory glass.
Glass loading system is an indispensable key equipment for modern glass processing enterprises to achieve intelligent, efficient and safe production.
Do you have a specific glass product or loading scenario that you would like to learn more about?
Thanks for reading! I’m Loren, responsible for the global automation equipment export business at Tongli Industrial.
We provide high-precision loading and unloading robots to help factories upgrade to intelligence.
If you need product catalog or customized solution, please contact:
Email: manipulator@tongli17.com | Mobile Phone: +86 159 5011 0267