OptiLoad Automated Glass Storage and Handling Systems

OptiLoad is an automated glass-handling and storage system that allows glass fabricators to manage more glass SKUs in less factory floor space while increasing capacity, efficiency, yields and safety. One OptiLoad system can serve multiple cutting tables without any table rarely having to wait for the next glass to arrive when the current plate is cut.

OptiLoad handles residential, commercial and architectural glass up to 130 by 240 inches. And we will be introducing a new OptiLoad reporting system that can report inventory, productivity, downtime, preventative maintenance needs and more.

OptiLoad’s benefits, which represent significant advances in glass handling and storage, are achieved by:

  • Serve glass to multiple cutting systems from one inventory. OptiLoad move packs or racks of glass instead of single lite. eliminating duplicate inventories and loading systems. Since the machine is far less busy because it moves racks instead of lites, you no longer need additional loading systems for second or third glass cutters.
  • Reduce the number of people needed to manage and move raw glass inventory.
  • Never touch raw glass. Even partially-used packs are automatically moved to a waiting position without touching or strapping.
  • Improve safety by eliminating carts and workers inside the storage and loading area. A forklift or crane operator loads packs at a dedicated station. Done!
  • Capacity increase by consistently having the next lite ready at each station before the current unit is complete.  The system moves packs of glass to each cutter, not just a lite. This results in a higher throughput of glass cutting through a single line in any given shift. This higher capacity comes with a lower labor cost per square foot of glass.
  • More glass in less space. The system’s dense storage technology makes it possible to have more lite types and sizes in a smaller space than currently being used. Before OptiLoad, a customer had two loading systems with eight SKUs, both systems with the exact same inventory. In the same floor space, OptiLoad gives them up to 46 stations of inventory feeding both cutting lines.
  • Higher yields. By giving the optimizer multiple sizes of the same lite product, cutting yields can be improved by 5 to 10 percent. Glass is typically the highest cost material in insulating glass fabrication. Saving 5 percent in a $2 million annual glass purchase is significant—and generates enough profit to rapidly pay for the system. Which makes all the other benefits, including safety, free.
  • Improve safety by eliminating carts and workers inside the storage and loading area. A forklift or crane operator loads packs at a dedicated station.
  • Flexibility. OptiLoad handles any size and package type of glass lites, including wood crates. It can store glass to be transported to cutting, insulating or distribution. Users no longer have to commit to 96 X 130s vs 72 X 96 and no longer have to store crated glass in a separate area.
  • All glass is loaded at a single location, including rack glass (72 X 96), glass packs (102 X 144) and glass in wood crates. Loading in one location allows for better protection and safer practices. Once loaded, there is no further interaction with direct labor, providing a major improvement in safety in one of the highest injury areas in a glass fabrication plant.

OptiLoad system components

OptiLoad is a modular system for raw glass processing which integrates with your cutting tables. Components include:

Customized flexibility with OptiLoad components

Every OptiLoad system is engineered specifically for your space and process needs. In most cases, OptiLoad gives you access to more glass, less labor and higher cutting capacity with more safety. In addition, with OptiLoad you are not limited to an arbitrary number of loading stations or certain floor space requirements.

Ask for a comparison with your current process

Get a review of how automated raw glass processing can overcome your current space and inventory limitations, improve efficiency and throughput, increase yields and enhance safety. Contact Ryan McHugh today.

OptiLoad-benefits-explanation

Click the image to learn how smart raw glass management increases capacity and yields in less space.

Dense Storage Shuttle

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  • Handles racked glass or glass packs
  • Stores and delivers any size up to 108 by 144 inches
  • Can be loaded from one or both sides
  • Is easily expanded and customized

Turntable Access Systems

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  • Handles either 72 by 84 inch or 72 by 96 inch glass
  • Is capable of two, three or four stations

Double-Sided Loaders

double Sided Loader Raw Glass | Integrated Automation Systems

Double-sided loaders enable you to automatically load practically every size of raw glass, including architectural.

  • Loads 48 by 60 inches to 130 by 240-inch glass
  • Thicknesses from 3 to 25 mm
  • Loads faster than the cutter can cut
  • Lays glass down gently

Free Fall Loaders

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  • Computer-driven vacuum cup always knows its location
  • Immediately finds the next lite in a rack without delay
  • Knows where the moving center of gravity is even as it gets further into the rack, making every drop a gentle drop

50 square feet per SKU, but no limits

The OptiLoad Dense Storage Shuttle takes 600 square feet of storage space for 12 SKUs, or 50 square feet per SKU. An OptiLoad Turntable Access System for six SKUs takes 300 square feet of floor space, again for 50 square feet per SKU. Different layouts and SKU numbers can increase square footage per SKU although nearly all fall below 80 square feet per SKU. We have seen many loading systems that, when all factors are considered, occupy anywhere from 100 to 175 square feet per raw glass SKU in storage. This waste of space eats into profits and productivity.

Ask for examples

Overall, you can significantly reduce your cutting cost with OptiLoad. We can show you examples, including how adding a second size can reduce the number of cutting patterns and increase yields, often by more than five percent.  We can help you work out the math for your operations. If OptiLoad doesn’t work for you, we’ll tell you.