Why Apply Fuzzy Control to Serial Windscreen Production?
The serial bending furnace (TFA) is a tunnel furnace consisting of two conveying tracks, one above the other. The upper track is for pre-heating and bending, the lower for cooling (edge compression and annealing). The furnace has a compact construction and has very low energy consumption. It was originally developed for producing replacement windscreens, where glass is bent in small or medium runs. The capability to process different windscreens at the same time was an essential requirement, with each wagon possibly containing a different windscreen. Thanks to its versatility the furnace was rapidly adopted by the industry not only for replacement windshields, but also for OEM glass. The construction limits the cycle time to approximately 60 seconds, so whenever the capacity requirement is lower, the furnace can also be applied for OEM runs. Glass companies using serial furnaces supply low volume car manufacturers in Europe (e.g. trucks manufacturers, manufacturers of sport cars and sp
