68
GLASS & GLASS PROCESSING
Bohle hosts glass masterclass
www.ggpmag.com January 2020
Two glass
brands under
one roof
Clayton Glass is a multiaward
winning business
that has again been listed as
one of the 1,000 Companies
to Inspire Britain in 2019.
The company says that its
Smartglass product has
‘long been associated’ with
outstanding quality and
performance and now the
recent acquisition of the
Celsius Glass brand brings
further product capability to
customers.
Clayton adds that, from a
technical perspective, the
customers of both Celsius
and Smartglass now have
additional brand propositions
and technical capabilities
to promote to discerning
consumers. With a market
leading ‘U’ value of 0.9
W/(m2K), Celsius Elite is
reportedly the rst dedicated
conservatory roof glass to
achieve a sub 1.0 rating,
while Smartglass Ultra 86
is the sector benchmark for
a g-value of 86%. For trade
partners, says Clayton, this
means that they can now
choose the best glass for
an individual project and to
support consumer demand.
With the combined resources
and expertise, Clayton
says that a research and
development programme is
now being introduced to help
realise a next generation glass
solution, that offers both a
market-leading ‘U’-value and
g-value in a single IGU. At the
same time there are other
product developments being
looked at for glass roofs,
along with bi-folding and patio
doors options.
Ryan Green, MD, commented:
‘We want both the Celsius and
Smartglass brands to enjoy
cross selling opportunities
with the ultimate conservatory
roof glass offering and this is
a major plus for customers.”
Bohle has hosted an industrial
glass cutting masterclass as part of
its campaign to support industry
up-skilling.
Held at the glass consumables and
hardware specialist’s Manchester
base, the event was attended by
more than 20 guests drawn from the
glass processing and IGU sector, plus
machinery specialists and its own
in-house experts.
Proceedings began with a
presentation from Hegla’s Steve
Goble and Jörg Zimmermann
on the latest innovations in glass
cutting tables, loading, storage and
automation.
This was followed by a
presentation by Dr Michael Emonds,
senior chemist, Chemetall on the
science which underpins effi cient
cutting of glass and the critical role
that the choice of cutting fl uid plays
within it.
He argued that glass processors
and IGU manufacturers who relied
on dry cuts or used sub-standard
cutting fl uids were losing tens
of thousands a year in increased
processes and poor edge-quality.
He said: “The cutting fl uids are
doing several things. They lubricate
the grinding wheel, minimising
friction and reducing the cutting
pressure by on average 10 to 15%.
This means you get fewer chips and
create a better scoreline with fewer
branches.
“It also acts as a ‘chemical wedge’
penetrating the cut and increasing
the depth of the median crack,
supporting a more effective soft
break-out,” he added. “This again
reduces the amount of energy
required to create the cut and the
speed of the cut, also reducing
branch formation.
“This creates a major advantage,
particularly in the processing of
thicker glass, reducing the risk of
run-out of the cut. It also means
that far less edge work is required,
delivering signifi cant labour
savings.”
This was followed by a
presentation by Dennis Kampmann,
director of industrial glass cutting
at Bohle. He explored themes
previously touched on by Emonds
on the critical importance that
choosing the right cutting wheel for
different glass types, and therefore,
the right cutting wheels play in edge
quality.
“We have some customers who
will change cutting wheels during
production runs according to what
they’re processing. Yes, there’s a little
downtime involved, but the edge –
and therefore product quality and
strength – is that much greater.
“They’ve worked out that the
positive impact of changing to the
right cutting wheel has is worth a
little downtime and the change of
wheels,” he said.
Working with leading glass
machinery companies including
Glaston Bavelloni, Bottero,
Bystronic, Benteler, CMS Brembana,
Grenzebach, Hegla, Intermac,
Macotec and Lisec, amongst others,
Bohle claims to be the global leader
in glass cutting wheel design and
manufacture.
This includes the supply of an
extensive range of tungsten carbide
and PCD (polycrystalline diamond)
cutting wheels and their holders.
Bohle’s premium cutting wheels
are the Cutmaster Gold and
Cutmaster Platinum. Cutmaster
Gold is a highly engineered tungsten
carbide cutting wheel ideally suited
to cutting on a fl oat line and cutting
laminated glass. Its service life is
around eight to 10 times longer
than a standard cutting wheel but
more importantly, it maintains a
consistently high cutting quality
from the fi rst to the last cut.
Cutmaster Platinum represents a
further evolution of cutting wheel
technology. This utilises a specially
developed micro-structure which
forms a permanently sharp cutting
edge but also, rather than forming a
continuous score line, creates a series
of microscopic ‘dots’ creating a far
cleaner cut. According to Bohle this
results in a very high edge quality
because the cutting force required is
less and there are fewer side wings /
lateral cracks, so less chipping.
Bohle also supplies Acecut
cutting fl uids which are available in
washable and evaporating formats,
each dedicated to a specifi c type
thickness or glass type including
soft-coats.
“There are a lot of reasons to
invest in time and a little bit of
possible downtime in choosing the
right cutting wheel and fl uid because
it delivers far better edge quality and
with it, time savings downstream,”
Dennis continued.
“You don’t lose so much time on
edgework or product in toughening.
It protects your product quality and
it protects your reputation.
“The maths adds up,” he
concluded.
“ ere are a lot of reasons to invest in time
and a little bit of possible downtime in
choosing the right cutting wheel and uid”
/www.ggpmag.com
