Capacitance System Monitors Windshield Glass Thickness

Remember the days when windshields were made of flat sheet glass? Not anymore. The complex shapes and designs of today's windows complicate the manufacturing process and significantly increase quality control measures. Maintaining a constant shape and thickness is required to reduce the possibility of failure from stress induced during the quenching process. In order to maintain proper profile and thickness within a glass furnace the extrusion plate spacing must be maintained at a predetermined gap. Unfortunately, due to process changes and temperature swings this gap can fluctuate significantly in short periods of time. This variation causes the glass thickness to change, producing uneven temperature gradients and creating potentially weak glass panels. To control this critical parameter the manufacturing process requires automated active feedback control sensors installed into a very harsh environment. Limited space, extreme temperatures and excessive vibration had to be considered in the solution design.