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Schneider Electric, a global provider of digital energy management and automation solutions, has partnered with Saint-Gobain, a global provider of sustainable construction solutions, to introduce a new software-defined automation system specifically designed for glass manufacturing.
Launched at Glasstec 2024, a global event for the glass industry, this new system focuses on helping to improve reliability in the crucial lehr process, which anneals and cools flat glass. This furnace, with a typical lifespan of 15-20 years, is essential to production. Even brief power disruptions, such as a one-minute outage, can lead to extended production stoppages, equipment replacements, and potential losses of up to €200,000 per day.
Together, Saint-Gobain and Schneider Electric have created an open automation solution tailored to the lehr process. This proof of concept is built on Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Automation Expert (EAE), which separates hardware from software to help enable more seamless connectivity across various devices and equipment, independent of manufacturer.
The solution also helps to enhance safety and efficiency in glass manufacturing by leveraging EAE’s autonomous drive technology, allowing equipment-level decision-making, such as, smart drives control glass-pulling motors determining which motor operates, conducting quality checks, and supporting predictive maintenance.
With its plug-and-play modular design, this solution can be implemented worldwide, helping to reduce engineering, testing, and commissioning times by up to 50 percent, and allowing Saint-Gobain to achieve both immediate and long-term value from this solution.