Performance Evaluation of a Bench-Top Precision Glass Molding Machine

Abstract

A Dyna Technologies Inc. GP-5000HT precision glass molding machine has been found to be a capable tool for bridging the gap between research-level instruments and the higher volume production machines typically used in industry, providing a means to apply the results of rigorous instrumentation analysis performed in the lab to industrial PGM applications. The GP-5000HT's thermal and mechanical functionality is explained and characterized through the measurement baseline functionality and the associated error. These baseline measurements were used to determine the center thickness repeatability of pressed glass parts, which is the main metric used in industrial pressing settings. The baselines and the repeatability tests both confirmed the need for three warm-up pressing cycles before the press reaches a thermal steady state. The baselines used for pressing a 2 mm glass piece to a 1 mm target center thickness yielded an average center thickness of 1.001 mm and a standard deviation of thickness of 0.0055 mm for glass samples pressed over 3 consecutive days. The baseline tests were then used to deconvolve the sources of error of final pressed piece center thickness.