New developments at Wiegand-Glas: laser cleaning system goes into operation
In our plant in Steinbach am Wald a new system was put into operation in August 2019: a complete and fully automatic system for cleaning the blank moulds, the blow moulds and bottoms using laser technology.
The fully automatic laser cleaning system is an effective tool for surface processing
Glass moulds have very specific needs when it comes to cleaning. The laser light, invisible to the human eye, is directed to our moulds via a glass fibre, a scanning head and an optical system. The entire light guide is integrated into a modern robot arm and as such can clean the variety of our moulds automatically at high speed, with great accuracy and minimal heat input without damaging the surface.
The robot is also equipped with a 3D laser scanner that recognises the mould's contours, measures the moulds and generates the optimal paths for the robot arm. In addition, we can import 3D CAD models to generate the paths.
The advantages are obvious
Without the use of abrasives, the surface is cleaned gently, leaving the volume of the moulds unchanged. No chemical solvents or other materials are used in this type of laser cleaning. This makes our plant environmentally friendly. The system works precisely and with pinpoint accuracy and has also created a low-noise working environment for our mould personnel.