How many methods or possible ways to fill gas into insulating glass unit?
No matter the demand of energy saving or sound proof, more and more insulating glass orders are requesting to have gas filled, so how to fill Argon into insulating glass air gap?
Usually there are two possible ways, automatic with IGU line online, or manual gas filling with tools.
1. Automatic gas filling.
The gas was filled during the two glass panels or three glass panels assembled inside the pressing station.
As there are no penetrate or damaged to glass or frame, so the glass machine manufacturers design two different ways.
For example, Lisec has formed a closed and sealed space for insulating glass before assembly and pressed, and fill the closed space with argon, so all the space including the spacer between two panel glass is filled with Argon. Then the pressing station pressed the glass to get argon filled insulating glass unit.
As Argon is heavier than air, so the gas filling nozzle start from bottom. How to make the gas filling nozzle stop working? There are few oxygen sensor inside the pressing plate, for example, vertical 1000mm, 1500mm, 2000mm, 2500mm. So if you are processing glass size smaller than the sensor vertical position or between the two sensors, you have to fill the sealed pressing plate space with all argon, which means you wasted lots of argon. However, the argon is not so expensive anyway.
Bystronic is doing it other ways, but Bystronic way can only fill gas for double insulating glass, not triple Insulating glass unit. The front pressing plate bend the 1st glass, to leave one spacer for gas filling nozzle.
The pressing station is controlled by servo motor, and there is glass thickness detector to measure the glass and frame thickness. The pressing station will make the two panels glass approaching each other, just touch but not pressing. Then the front pressing plate bends the glass vertical side, to get a small gap for gas filling nozzle. Then the nozzle moves forward and penetrate into the gas for gas filling.
Advantage: less argon wasted, but cannot detect how many percent of gas filled.
After gas filling, the pressing station pressed the insulating glass.
2. Manual gas filling.
No matter what gas filling machines or tools you are using, they has the same theory, oxygen sensor to detect inside oxygen content.
a. drill hole in aluminum spacer or other warm edge spacer, drill the outside only, not inside surface. Two holes, up and down, bottom holes for argon in, and up holes for air(oxygen) out.
When the oxygen sensor cannot detect any oxygen out from up hole, the machine will stop gas filling. It thinks the insulating glass is fully filled with Argon.
However, this kind of manual gas machine cannot fill glass larger than 1.5sqm or 2sqm.
b. There is also gas filling corner key, one plug in the corner key. After insulating glass assembly and pressed, fill argon from bottom corner key hole, and oxygen sensor from up corner key hole. Then insert the plug and seal with butyl sealant.
So if you need any more information or has any questions, please feel free to contact with us.
Jinan DETEK machine co., ltd. norman@detekmachine.com
