Sono-Tek recently published an article in the ware handling section of the May 2013 issue of Glass Worldwide magazine. Written by Cindy Reifenberger, Product Development Coordinator for Sono-Tek, the article discusses the need for acid interleave protective coating on newly formed float glass, and the benefits of ultrasonic spray for applying these coatings. A small snippet from the article:

“The growing demand for high tech glass products increases the concern for Stage I corrosion, which cannot be detected with the naked eye but can result in quality issues with value added coating processes, leading to the inability for further processing, rejection and even scrap. In severe cases, nightmare stories have been told of glass manufacturers disposing of upwards of a million dollars of inventory due to insufficient stain protection being implemented in the float process. Even short term storage of glass needs to be addressed with chemical interleaving acid protection or risk significant losses.

Consequently, anti-stain protection methods continue to come of age. A relatively new inline liquid spray process uses ultrasonic spray nozzles to apply aqueous acid solutions directly onto the glass ribbon following the annealing lehr, prior to cutting. This process usually replaces conventional pressure spray systems with ultrasonic atomizing nozzles, resulting in lowering of: liquid spray material consumption (up to 80% reduction), exhaust and scrubber requirements, maintenance, overspray, atmospheric contamination, and staining defects.”

Look for the full article on page 88 of Glass Worldwide. Email Sono-Tek at info@sono-tek.com or find out more about ultrasonic spray glass applications by visiting their website at www.sono-tek.com.