Machine Vision for Glass Inspection

Glass production is an ongoing process characterized by large volumes and high speed. Our glass tube machine vision inspection systems have so far inspected more than 70 billion km of glass tubing – half the distance to the sun.

We are world-leading in glass inspection technology and have been well-established in the market for many years. We are always looking for new challenges and areas where we can apply our know-how.

Examples of glass inspection systems

• Tableware inspection in the cold end
• Tableware inspection in the hot end
• Glass tube inspection on line
• Glass tube inspection off line
• Glass tube end inspection
• Inspection of flat glass mobile phones
• Preform glass rods for optical fibre
• Capillary tubes inner diameter measurements

JLI Glass Inspection Systems are custom-designed turnkey solutions for measuring dimensions, shapes, surface defects, and material distribution.

The vision systems cover a wide range of production processes in both the hot and cold end. All equipment is designed for the appropriate environment and can withstand the tough conditions on a glass production floor.

Cold-end and hot-end glass inspection

The first cold-end tableware inspection systems were developed in 1994. The vision systems inspect the glass before packaging.

The hot-end glass inspection system “HETI” incorporates the dynamic light box, where several illumination patterns can be generated. This method allows different inspections to be done in one location. This is important as conveyor space in the hot end of glassworks is limited.

This vision system displays production statistics for the hot-end operators so they can track the operation of each tool in the forming process. Monitoring the glass production in the hot end avoids producing a large number of defects. The operators do not have to wait for the lehr time and reports from the cold end.

Inspection of glass tubes

In glass tubing, we are world-leading and our vision systems are recognized as the industry standard. The first systems were delivered in 1996 and today our SK 3000 systems cover all sizes and production speed up to 15 meters a second. The vision systems will detect airlines and stone and knots down to 5µ.

Capillary tubes with a diameter of just 12 µ are measured to an accuracy of 50 nm by using special optics and illumination techniques. The capillary tubes are often used in medical devices and the inspection and the systems are validated to FDA requirements.