Thermal imaging benefits glass pharmaceutical packaging.

In-furnace thermal imaging to optimise the borosilicate glass production at a major facility in France has been provided by AMETEK Land.

SGD Pharma, a global leader in glass pharmaceutical packaging, chose AMETEK Land’s Near Infrared Borescope (NIR-B-656- Glass) in-furnace thermal imaging system to optimise the production and quality of borosilicate glass from its newly rebuilt 50tpd oxy-gas furnace at its plant in St Quentin Lamotte (F). The new system replaces the company’s existing CCTV system*.

Obtaining clear images from the furnace using the CCTV system proved challenging due to the highly aggressive furnace atmosphere, which often resulted in blurry images and inconsistent, inaccurate measurements.

The NIR-B-656- Glass solution provides SGD Pharma with a true-temperature radiometric image, so live continuous temperature values can be obtained. The high quality of the purge applied on the lens delivers a clear image, providing the same views as the previous CCTV system managed at its best.

The most important benefit is the capability to obtain a furnace thermal profile continuously in the oxy-gas furnace, confirming the hot spot locations are well aligned with the furnace design and batch line. This supports the optimisation of the production and quality of the borescope glass while also helping extend the furnace’s campaign life.

Francois Deblock, Glass Melting Director at SGD Pharma, said: “We are very pleased with the results we have achieved so far from AMETEK Land’s Near Infrared Borescope, as it has allowed us to improve response times, identify and troubleshoot furnace operations to achieve improved yield and higher pull, as well as lower specific energy usage. We expect this will mean high cost and efficiency savings over the lifetime of the furnace.”

* The complete case study may accessed here (pdf)

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