The world’s largest glass manufacturer uses in-line sensors to remediate issues and test new glass on the line.

O-I Glass

Challenge

Without a true measure of IPS on the line, O-I could only speculate cause of breakage.

The traditional method to test glass strength involves an impact pendulum whose force, measured in IPS (inches per second) is gradually increased until the point of failure. In the real-world however, glass breakage does not necessarily occur in the highest or the only high impact area. Impact received by the glass bottle on an improperly calibrated line causes damage on the surface of the glass and weakens the glass until an impact (even small) causes the final breakage.

O-I, the largest glass manufacturer in the world, was searching for accurate data from real-world testing of new designs and also a tool to mediate issues when the root cause of breakage was called into question.

Solution

ShockQC™ sourced as testing tool to compare IPS rating to real-world line exposure.

ShockQC was deployed as a testing tool to measure performance of new glass bottle designs on the line and to mediate issues such as excess breakage. In scenarios where clients claim the glass supplied does not meet the specified ratings, technicians insert the system onto the line to compare the impact that the container is receiving directly on the line to the IPS rating of the container. The technician can then easily determine the root cause of breakage on the line using the industry’s only IPS measurement tool. ShockQC is a smart replica of glass containers, cans or other fragile containers to measure IPS and G-Force to identify the root cause of damage with 99% repeatability. Location tracking with wireless Bluetooth beacons pinpoint the origin of damage and opportunities for improvement.
new glass bottles on a line after being manufactured

O-I has improved client relations and easily determines the root cause of breakage on the line with the use of ShockQC™