SYMPOSIA PAPER Published: 01 January 1985
STP38707S

Mold Temperature Measurement for Glass-Pressing Processes

Source

The largest use of radiation thermometers within Corning Glass Works is for mold temperature measurement for the glass-pressing process. Pressing television panels at today's high quality would be very difficult without a mold temperature measurement system and the computer manipulation of the quality control data to supervise the mold temperature control loop.

The most critical part of a television panel is the inside surface curvature. The ideal surface is usually defined as a spherical surface. The tolerance for a normal TV panel is ±0.30 mm (±0.012 in.). High resolution display panels are more critical, having a dimensional tolerance only one half as large as TV panels. Panel curvature is a direct (but negative) function of mold temperature. Every 1°C increase in mold temperature results in the panel center being 0.025 mm (0.001 in.) shorter (flatter). Random dimensional variations within a panel take up most of the dimensional tolerance. The result is that each mold is controlled to its own individual temperature set point, ±1°C.

Hot panel and cold panel curvature measurements are correlated by a process computer and used to update the mold temperature set points. The same computer adjusts the mold cooling air to maintain the required mold temperatures.

From the temperature measurement standpoint, the significant problem is the changing emissivity of the mold surface when the mold is new or reconditioned. The selection of a radiation thermometer with a short wavelength was an obvious choice to minimize the effect of emissivity variations. On the negative side, the potential interference from reflected ambient light would require careful shielding. A silicon cell thermometer was chosen for this system. The silicon cell thermometer is a very fast response instrument—that attribute is not required in this specific application but is used in high-speed pressing processes such as automotive headlights.

Author Information

Holman, RA
Corning Glass Works, Corning, NY
Price: $25.00
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Details
Developed by Committee: E20
Pages: 67–73
DOI: 10.1520/STP38707S
ISBN-EB: 978-0-8031-5558-9
ISBN-13: 978-0-8031-0445-7