Commissioned by and in close cooperation with XPAR Vision, STT Products has developed various measuring systems for the glass container industry (glass bottles).
The Gob Assist is one of these systems. This infrared camera system measures and monitors the temperature, wall thickness and homogeneity of the glass. The glass is measured at the moment the gob falls down into the mould. This way the position of the gob can be established to see if it needs correction. This way, bottles with a thinner wall thickness can be made. This not only saves material, costs and energy, but is also more sustainable for the environment.
With the Gob Assist, abnormalities can be detected and corrected early on. Before this system was available, defects were not discovered until the end of the production process, resulting in much more out-of-spec products.
This makes the Gob Assist to a fine example of Industry 4.0. The Gob Assist is an ever evolving system. Nowadays, the fifth generation Gob Assist is available on the market. STT Products has been making the hardware since the earliest days.
Met de Gob Assist kunnen afwijking al in een vroeg stadium worden opgespoord en bijgestuurd. Voordat dit systeem was geïmplementeerd werden afwijkingen pas aan het einde van het productieproces ontdekt waardoor er veel meer out-of-spec producten waren.
Dit maakt de Gob Assist tot een mooi voorbeeld van Industry 4.0. De Gob Assist is een systeem wat telkens in ontwikkeling blijft, zo is er inmiddels al een vijfde generatie Gob Assists. STT Products levert al vanaf de eerste Gob Assist de hardware voor de systemen.