Solar glass — Glass manufacturing
Rolled forming, coating and tempering.
Solar glass is a segment of Glass manufacturing. Below are the systems and equipment FacilityOS covers for it, filtered from the Glass manufacturing solution.
How FacilityOS helps
- Batch plant, furnace, tin bath and annealing lehr monitored with the cutting and tempering lines.
- Hydrogen and oxygen gas detection monitored only.
- Compressed air and furnace energy with efficiency KPIs.
Systems and equipment
Core: every site of this kind has it. Common: most sites have it. Optional: depends on the site.
Batch, melting, forming, finishing
A furnace that loses fire or power for a few hours can freeze: backup power and fuel are essential.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batch plant | Core | Batch feed rate · Cullet share · Lowest silo level | |
| Glass melting furnace | Core | Crown temp · Bottom temp · Gas flow · Pull (tons/day) · Glass level · Flame failure | Flame supervision and gas safety are done by the burner management system; the platform only monitors. |
| Annealing lehr | Core | Entry temp · Exit temp · Roller speed | |
| Cutting line | Core | Line speed · Defect cut-out · Lites cut today | |
| Tempering furnace | Common | Heating section temp · Quench pressure · Blower power | |
| Line controller (OEE) | Common | OEE · Output (parts/h) · Energy per part | |
| Weighbridge / scale | Optional | Current weight · Load cell fault |
Gas, oxygen & protective gas
Oxy-fuel firing uses a lot of oxygen; the tin bath needs nitrogen-hydrogen.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural gas meter | Core | Natural gas flow · Heat input (1,037 BTU/scf) · Gas today (scf) | Natural gas in scfh, converted to BTU/h by heating value. |
| Bulk gas supply | Core | Tank level · Supply pressure · Vaporizer outlet temp · Flow · Impurity · Reserve supply in use | N2, O2, Ar, H2, CO2; tank telemetry is usually the gas supplier's. |
| On-site nitrogen generator | Optional | Product O2 content · Output · Outlet pressure · Off-purity (on LIN backup) | |
| Oxygen deficiency monitor | Common | Oxygen · Alarm 1 (O2 below 19.5 %) · Alarm 2 (O2 below 18 %) | Nitrogen and inert-gas areas: 19.5 % and 18 % stages. |
| Tank farm level | Common | Level · High-high level · Bund leak |
Cooling water & air
Furnace, electrodes and tin bath need cooling water; forming uses a lot of compressed air.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooling tower cell | Core | Tower leaving water · Tower entering water · Fan speed · Basin level · Water conductivity · Fan vibration | |
| Pump | Core | Running · Speed · Differential pressure | Chilled and condenser water pumps; drives usually on Modbus TCP. |
| Air compressor | Core | Discharge pressure · Load · Power draw · Fault | |
| Compressed-air header | Common | Header pressure · Air demand · Receiver pressure | |
| Process chiller | Optional | Process water supply temp · Process water return temp · Load |
Flue gas treatment
NOx and particulate permits.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Process exhaust system | Core | Exhaust main static · Exhaust airflow · Fans running · Low exhaust static | Watch general, heat, solvent and acid exhaust separately; N+1 fans. |
| Dust collector | Core | Filter pressure drop · Spark detected | Batch house and furnace charging dust. |
Power, electric boost & emergency power
Electric boost is a big load; the emergency generator keeps furnace cooling and combustion air running.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium-voltage switchgear | Core | Bus voltage · Incoming current · Real power · Breaker closed · Protective trip · Relay trouble | Monitor only — never operate breakers. |
| Power transformer | Core | Top-oil temp · Winding temp · Load · Gas / sudden-pressure alarm · Over-temperature alarm | |
| Low-voltage switchgear | Core | Bus voltage · Load current · Real power · Power factor · Current THD · Breaker trip | |
| Motor control center | Common | MCC load · Current · Power factor · Current THD | |
| Area energy meter | Core | Area power · Energy today · 15-min demand · Power factor | Sub-metering by workshop or system for energy analysis and cost allocation. |
| Site utility meter | Core | Site power · Site power (MW) · Energy today · Power factor | |
| Power quality meter | Common | Voltage THD · Current THD · Voltage sags today · Sag / interruption event | Voltage sags are a common hidden cause of trips. |
| Generator | Core | Running · Output power · Fuel tank level · Starting battery voltage · Not in AUTO | |
| UPS | Core | Load · Battery runtime · On bypass | SNMP v3 (UPS-MIB). |
| UPS battery string monitor | Core | String voltage · Lowest jar voltage · Highest jar voltage · Highest jar internal resistance · Highest jar temp · State of charge | Per-jar resistance trending (one of the maintenance practices in IEEE 1188). |
| Passive (tuned) harmonic filter | Common | After current THD · Capacitor current, measured / rated · Resonance alarm | |
| Automatic capacitor bank | Common | Power factor · Capacitor current, measured / rated · Resonance alarm · Switching operations today | |
| 12 / 18-pulse front end | Optional | Input current THD · Bridge current unbalance |
Life safety Monitor only
Monitor only.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fire alarm panel | Core | Fire alarm · Supervisory signal · Trouble signal | Monitor only (NFPA 72). |
| Fire pump | Common | Running · System pressure · Power phase failure | |
| Sprinkler riser | Common | Riser pressure · Waterflow alarm · Valve tamper | |
| Combustible gas detector | Common | Combustible gas (LEL) · Gas alarm |
Security & video Monitor only
Camera and door status, and video linkage: cameras are linked to areas, devices and alarm rules; on an alarm the gateway takes an ONVIF snapshot and attaches it to the alarm, with a live-view link to the NVR/VMS. Core never contacts a camera.
| Equipment | Level | Points worth watching | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video camera | Common | Online · Recording · Motion detected · Video analytics alarm · Tamper (blocked or moved) | Status via the VMS (Milestone, Genetec…); on an alarm the gateway takes an ONVIF snapshot and attaches it to the alarm — Core never contacts a camera. |
| Access-controlled door | Common | Door open · Door held open · Door forced | Door events can drive camera linkage. |
Life-safety equipment (fire alarm, gas detection, emergency power transfer) and protection devices are monitored only. FacilityOS never sends them commands.
Standards and compliance
| Standards and compliance | Notes |
|---|---|
| NFPA 86 | Standard for ovens and furnaces. |
| NFPA 85 | Boiler and combustion systems hazards code (burner management). |
| ASTM C1036 | Flat glass. |
| ASTM C1048 | Heat-strengthened and fully tempered flat glass. |
| 40 CFR 63 Subpart SSSSSS | US EPA area-source emission standards for glass manufacturing. |
| ISO 50001 | Energy management systems. |
Standards are listed with what they cover; numeric values are typical figures, not requirements for every site. FacilityOS supports your compliance work; it does not certify a site.
Segments of Glass manufacturing
Full Glass manufacturing solution →
How we deliver
We can take a Glass manufacturing project from survey and design through procurement, installation, commissioning and training — all of it, or only the stages you need.