Four HB systems in a glass processing factory in Spain

Glass – a universal material right through the ages

Glass has been discovered a few thousand years ago and has since become known as a very versatile and sturdy material. Glass has been used as a cutting tool in the past but also to make jewellery. The art of glass blowing has been perfected by the Venetians through the centuries resulting in objects of decoration and art with matchless lustre.

Today we find objects made of glass not only in everyday use but also in technical and scientific applications. Industrial applications of glass in particular make use of its thermal and insolating properties. Modern architecture could not do without the various applications of glass as decorative but also functional elements.

 
TECNICAS DE VIDRIO TRANSFORMADO, S.L. “TVITEC”—a company with a clear vision of the glass of the future

The company TVITEC, S.L. (www.tvitec.com) in León, a town in the northwest of Spain, is a specialist within the glass processing industry. TVITEC was only founded in 2007 and as such is a very young enterprise, yet they are characterised by a high degree of potential and innovation. The production plants with a production area of over 65,000 square metres can boast of state-of-the-art machinery for glass processing, from intelligent stock management and glass cutting machinery up to ovens for tempered glass, mill lines, as well as production lines for double glazing and screen printing. After cutting, the glass can be made into laminated glass thus becoming safety glass and/or insulating glass with outstanding soundproof properties. Another area TVITEC specialise in is double glazing using two separate sheets of glass and connecting them by using a metal profile and sealing them all round. TVITEC dispose of machinery for bevelling, drilling, and polishing glass in order to fulfil bespoke customer orders. The range of products includes also coloured glass consisting of two or more sheets of float glass. The end product thus created is a perfect marriage of aesthetical design and safety. Products from the company TVITEC are used worldwide. The main markets are in Europe but you would also encounter TVITEC glass products in the north of Africa, in the Gulf region, and in America.

ABUS light weight crane system HB accelerates the production flow

TVITEC has to be able to rely on an efficient flow of production given the wide range of products as well as bespoke manufacturing of customers’ orders. In this context the quick but safe transport of glass sheets between the different processing stations if of utmost importance. The production plant features an EOT crane serving the whole production area, yet there have been considerable amounts of idle times waiting for the EOT crane to become available again. The workflow at TVITEC simply had to be optimised: ABUS Grúas, S.L. (www.abusgruas.es), the Spanish daughter company of ABUS Kransysteme GmbH in Germany, proposed a lower-level transport solution that would in no way hamper the use of the existing EOT crane. The ABUS HB-System was opted for. The HB system is characterised by great adaptability to the respective work stations, flexibility, and economic efficiency.

 
 with spans ranging between eight and eleven metres and track lengths between 16 and 43 metres. The lifting capacities are 1,000 kg and one chain hoist ABUCompact type GM4 is used. ABUS Grúas installed vacuum systems with vacuum cups on three of the four systems which allow transport of larger glass sheets. The handling of glass sheets requires in general an extraordinarily smooth mode of transportation. It requires all components of the handling system to work together in order to achieve this kind of smooth transportation: the vacuum system does its part but diverse details of the HB system and the drives also make their contribution. All ABUS hoists come with two speeds for lifting and for travelling. The speeds are infinitely variable, i.e. there is no abrupt change of speed and therefore no abrupt movement when handling the glass sheets. Possible slight swinging movements which could result from accelerating or braking are annihilated by the use of articulated suspensions of the HB system. The special construction of the ABUS suspensions allow these suspensions to absorb the forces created by accelerating and braking thus preventing the steel structures from moving which in turn leads to smooth transport handling.

TVITEC found the ABUS HB system to be the ideal tool to transport sensitive loads with greatest care.