Plastic solutions for hot glass handling
The glass industry places very high demands on machines and tools for handling hot glass. Many materials cannot withstand the extremely high temperatures in combination with gentle glass handling. Façade Creations offers a plastic solution that is perfectly suited to these requirements. Our high-performance polyimide material range can be economically manufactured to tight tolerances and allows for gentler glass handling than graphite or brass components. Machining of the material is cleaner, easier and less damaging to tools than with graphite components.
Our technical staff will be pleased to advise on material selection, component design and sampling.
Our polyimide-based materials are non-melting and have excellent long-term thermal resistance. Even at glass temperatures above 500°C, these materials do not melt or soften. Strength, dimensional stability and creep resistance remain high even in continuous use.
In addition to high temperature resistance, low thermal conductivity, high wear resistance and impact resistance are of great importance. Mechanical resilience and low oil absorption are also key requirements placed on the material in such applications.
Get in touch with our Glass Industry team
(However, if you prefer to speak to someone directly? Call our aerospace team or email us and we’ll respond promptly.)
Team Contact Form
Benefits for the Glass Industry
- Direct formed take-out inserts
- Increasing productivity
- Good machinability
- All-round service
- Product portfolio
Direct formed take-out inserts
Common take-out inserts are manufactured cost-effectively using the direct forming process. Inserts can be manufactured either as blanks or ready-machined for the desired bottle-neck geometry (screw thread or crown cap). The inserts are available in stock to ensure short delivery times.
Increasing productivity
Numerous series applications have shown that the use of Façade Creations’ high-performance polyimide materials in glass production can increase productivity and thus reduce the associated production costs.
Good machinability
Our high-performance polyimide materials can be machined dry or wet on all machine tools suitable for metalworking. Carbide cutting tools with a cutting angle for machining aluminium can be used to machine the materials very well without generating dust. Additional extraction devices are therefore not required to protect people and machines.
All-round service
During the development phase, our core business is to assist with material selection, component design and sampling. Flexibility, speed and short delivery times are our strengths in series production.
Product portfolio
Our portfolio includes the most common gripper inserts made from our graphite-filled polyimide grade for handling glass bottles. Suitable semi-finished products in the form of plates, rods and tubes are also available for special applications.
Solutions for the Glass Industry
Abrasion resistance
Our high-performance polyimide materials are highly resistant to wear. Less wear means longer life, lower costs and less downtime
High impact strength
Conventional materials such as carbon graphite are brittle. This material property often leads to breakage during handling and operation. Our polyimide materials, on the other hand, have high impact strength, which helps to increase reliability and yield in the glass container production process.
Low thermal conductivity
The low thermal conductivity of our polyimide materials prevents microcracks caused by thermal shock when handling glass, compared to metal or graphite materials.
Reduced oil absorption
In addition, the low oil absorption means that markings on designer bottles can be avoided.
Our Polyimide Product Range for Glass Handling
We offer a range of polyimide-based material grades to help you choose the most suitable option for your application.
Black, highly graphite-filled polyimide grade
A highly filled graphite-based polyimide type, based on a non-meltable polymer, offering excellent high-temperature performance for direct-formed glass-handling components.
Black polyimide with 15% graphite content
A polyimide grade containing 15% graphite, particularly suitable for tribological applications requiring good sliding and wear characteristics.
Black polyimide with 40% graphite content
Developed as a higher-graphite-content variant, this grade offers high resistance to thermal ageing alongside strong wear performance.
Application Examples for the Glass Industry
- Chain prisms for pharmaceutical glass
- Prism jaws
- Oven gripper
Bottle gripper / take-out inserts
Made from our natural, graphite-filled polyimide grade.
- Cost savings due to 3–4 times greater durability compared to conventional materials (graphite)
- Excellent wear resistance
- Significant reduction of micro-cracks
- Low thermal conductivity, good impact resistance and high modulus of elasticity
Contact
We can help you choose the right material for your application. Contact us via our contact form.
Team Contact Form
