Address:
Glafo, PG Vejdes väg 15,
SE-351 96 Växjö
SWEDEN

Visitor's address:
Vejdes plats 3

Tel: +46 10 516 63 50
E-mail: info@glafo.se

You find a map at the
"about Glafo" page.

Project leader: Christina Stålhandske
Project status: New project


POLISHING GLASS BY MEANS OF WATER CUTTING TECHNOLOGY – CROSS-DICIPLINARY COLLABORATION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT


The aims are:
- to develop an environmentally friendly polishing technique that produces the same finish as an acid-polished finish; for flat surfaces, cut edges and holes both in float glass and in crystal glass
- to create a network within this field
- to appoint a person in the area of water cutting
- to produce a prototype glass polishing installation
.

Background
Glass is increasingly being used as a building material and also for decorative purposes. Where glass is used in structures, a commonly-employed technique is to use holes that accommodate bolts. These holes can be made stronger by polishing the edges. As yet there is no rational technique for polishing small holes or recesses with sharp corners.

Within the art glass manufacturing industry the only sufficiently effective method available for polishing more complicated shapes such as holes and cut edges is acid polishing. However, acid polishing is an expensive process that involves some risk, and the industry is very keen to develop techniques that can replace it.

Experiments have shown that water jet technology can be used to polish glass to the same level as can be achieved by acid polishing. However the technique has not been used on art glass or developed for the industrial processing of float glass. Water jet technology could be developed and adapted to become an environmentally friendly alternative to acid polishing.

Procedure
The first part of the project involves developing a polishing technique that employs a water jet. Water cutting involves the use of high pressure and sand. If this technique is used for polishing, it will probably be necessary to substantially reduce the pressure of the jet. Sand cannot be used to produce a surface of the same quality as is produced by acid polishing, and so some other polishing medium must be used. The polishing technique will then be applied to holes and cut edges.

It is not as yet clear which analytical method is best for analysing and evaluating the polished results. A suitable technique must be identified and used to assess the quality of the result.

For holes, the mechanical properties must also be evaluated and the effect of polishing the holes will be determined.

We will have to conduct a strategic sustainability analysis in order to investigate the long-term potential of the various polishing methods. This is to make sure that we develop an alternative polishing method that will be commercialisable for the industry.

The project is run by:
Glafo in close cooperation with the Swedish Waterjet Laboratory.

Financial backers
European Regional Development Fund, Glafo, Region Blekinge, Regionförbundet i Kalmar län, Swedish Waterjet Laboratory, Lunds universitet and Orrefors Kosta Boda, Glasteknik i Emmaboda, Water Jet Sweden, KMT, Swede Matic and Pilkington.