The TUROMAS loading system offers multiple benefits for glass processing companies, including increased productivity, optimization of plant layout, economic savings, and factory safety.
In the 1980s, TUROMAS engineers detected that the loading phase was slowing down the rest of the flat glass processing. To address this bottleneck, they designed a system consisting of tilting arms with suction cups to load the glass sheet and deliver it onto the cutting table.
Since the launch of this pioneering, reliable, and secure solution up to the present day, more than 1,200 units have been manufactured and sold worldwide, with significant expansion in Spanish-speaking, Brazilian, and Portuguese markets.
This technology has been in use for over three decades under all types of conditions; however, it has not remained static and has continued to evolve into new models.
Innovations that, in addition to integrating the suction cup arms into the table structure itself for loading, incorporate belts to position and evacuate glass sheets completely automatically.
Currently, the TUROMAS R&D department is developing a version to work with jumbo-sized glass and a new instantaneous separation system. Both advances will undoubtedly revolutionize the glass industry.
The Benefits of the TUROMAS Loading System
The TUROMAS loading system provides multiple benefits for the customer who chooses to purchase it. These benefits relate to increased productivity, plant layout optimization, economic savings, and factory safety.
1. Automation of Glass Loading and Cutting to Improve Efficiency and Productivity
To automate the glass loading and cutting process, TUROMAS offers several efficient solutions depending on the customer’s investment level, whether they seek a more or less comprehensive machinery combination for their plant.
The most standard responses would be to complement a RUBI 303VA (In the [Automation of Glass Loading and Cutting] section) for monolithic glass cutting with a breakout table, or to add an MV-300 tilting table to a compact table for laminated glass cutting. Both incorporate tilting arms with suction cups that allow for the loading of glass sheets regardless of thickness or glass type.
The suction cup arms that perform the loading function are built into the structure of the table itself, eliminating the need for an external loader or a transfer table.
Along with the suction cups, the arm structure incorporates stops that allow for manual feeding of the cutting table, similar to conventional loading arms. In this way, the loading system is adapted for customers with highly variable production who require a flexible loading system tailored to their needs.
For companies with a significant diversity of glass types, the alternative would be to combine a basic smart storage system with a cutting table that incorporates the TUROMAS loading system. The combination of both machines optimizes space, allowing the area not used by a traditional loader to be used to expand the system’s storage capacity.
This is the case with the VAC cutting models featuring the TUROMAS loading system and positioning belts. An extremely compact and high-performance automatic glass loading solution.
Specifically, the RUBI 403VAC-6 (In the [Automation of Glass Loading and Cutting] section) allows for 2 glass sheets to be on the table simultaneously with synchronized advancement, allowing the second sheet to enter the cutting area while the first is being evacuated to the breakout system. Furthermore, the RUBI 403VAC-6 model offers the possibility of expanding the useful cut to 6100 x 3300 mm.
Finally, a fully automated solution would be the combination of an SR Rack-Shuttle automatic storage system and a cutting line with the TUROMAS loading system (In the [Automation of Glass Loading and Cutting] section). A simple and economical alternative that allows for autonomous glass storage, loading, and cutting, while achieving up to 300% higher performance.
Every production space is different, and all have elements that hinder the installation or operation of machinery, often limiting the effective work zone to the space between columns in a warehouse and depending on an overhead crane for glass reloading.
The SR Rack-Shuttle system breaks these limitations as it can operate between different warehouses, bypassing columns and eliminating the need for an overhead crane that covers the entire storage area. Glass reloading into the warehouse is performed on a specific rack that is moved within the storage system by the machine itself.
Furthermore, these storage systems have been designed modularly so the machine can continue to grow as company needs do, gradually increasing the number of racks and the storage area.
Thanks to the TUROMAS loading system, cutting tables are capable of loading glass sheets directly from the storage rack. Additionally, the SR Rack-Shuttles allow for simultaneous feeding of two lines arranged in parallel, increasing the flow of work and glass toward subsequent processes.
With greater flexibility and higher production rates, the SR Rack-Shuttle storage systems, combined with automatic loading machines with tilting arms and suction cups, form a production system capable of meeting the needs of the most demanding processors while virtually adapting to any space and glass type.
2. Saving Space and Money Without Sacrificing Absolute Performance
Compared to other conventional systems that do not integrate automatic glass loading, the TUROMAS loading system makes it possible to save between €10,000 and €12,000 annually by dispensing with the operator who feeds the cutting table, allowing them to be assigned to other tasks.
Likewise, the use of the overhead crane, instead of being dedicated to feeding the cutting table, can be reserved for other production processes, such as loading/unloading raw materials and finished products.
Another major advantage offered by this technology—which integrates the loader into the cutting table itself—is space optimization and the consequent saving of the cost of an automatic loader. Many companies lack sufficient infrastructure, making it essential to maximize space resources.
3. Safety: An Important Aspect That is Never Overlooked
The TUROMAS loading system increases employee safety on the plant floor by avoiding potential accidents that could occur during manual table feeding.
This ensures occupational risk prevention and a considerable reduction in breakage due to collisions; the suction cups on the arms, thanks to their control devices, detect when the glass surface is near and only then activate the vacuum to prevent potential impacts.
To control suction cup grip, a vacuum switch indicates when the optimal vacuum level is reached for each glass size. Additionally, the separation mechanism used ensures that only a single sheet is loaded from the rack in each cycle.
All this data is monitored and displayed on the table control console and the office screen.
4. Loading All Types of Glass
Glass is a material with a wide variety of types and applications depending on its composition. Therefore, the TUROMAS loading system has been specifically designed to work under any circumstances.
This system enables the automatic loading of standard monolithic glass sheets with thicknesses from 2 mm to 25 mm, as well as laminated glass sheets up to 12+12 mm.
Specifically, laminated glass is heavy and consequently difficult to transport. To facilitate its handling, the Spanish manufacturer provides the glass processor with the most compact solution for loading and cutting laminated glass currently on the market: an MV-300 loading table plus a LAM 304 (In the [Loading All Types of Glass] section) cutting table.
Furthermore, the loading system has been designed to avoid contact with the upper glass layer at all times, transporting and loading the glass without touching it, thereby not affecting the excellence of Low-E coatings.
Every warehouse is unique, and every customer has specific requirements. That is why TUROMAS glass transport equipment is so versatile. These latest technology solutions adapt both to entrepreneurs taking their first steps toward automation and to those who require maximum automation and productivity.
