Critical to Quality
As the first step in the IG manufacturing process, glass cutting is critical to the quality of your finished windows. Lack of proper maintenance on your cutting tables can lead to decreased cut accuracy, poor cut quality, and ultimately more broken glass.
Take cutting wheels for example. GED recommends changing the carbide cutting wheel every seven miles of cut (or about every 1.5 days), as our experience shows a measurable increase in glass breakage as cutting wheels dull. The score line gets shallower as the cutting wheel dulls causing more variance in the break pattern. It is possible to achieve proper score depth with increased head pressure, but using head pressure to compensate for a dull wheel actually crushes the glass below the surface and leads to micro cracks and stress points that are difficult to identify with the naked eye. The end result? More broken glass.
Worn bushings, wheel axles, tool posts, drive belts, and bent spindles can all contribute to inaccurate cuts and negatively influence edge quality as well. Regularly running the pre-programmed test patterns will help identify accuracy issues, and GED's maintenance manual provides troubleshooting techniques to pinpoint the problem.
Another area that can have a significant impact on cut quality is the cutting oil you use. The cutting oil GED supplies is specially designed to lubricate the fissure and stay in the fissure long enough to separate the glass before it evaporates. Inferior cutting oils produce glass shards which are not only a safety hazard but also negatively affect edge quality of the glass. Our oils come in several container sizes and we keep them in stock so we can ship them out on a moment's notice.
Whether it is changing cutting wheels more often, replacing the carpeting, or using the recommended cutting oil, it all has an effect on your glass quality and overall profits. Improve your glass quality today before the busy season hits!
Register or login today and use the promo code Cutting519 for special discounts on some of our cutting table products when you buy through our online store.