Stop the Chipping: Why we preheat our glass
Cutting cold glass is basically a gamble. You’re fighting internal tension and brittle fractures, which usually ends up as those annoying chips on the edges or corners. We’ve found a better way to handle it: infrared (IR) preheating. It completely changes how the glass reacts when the scribe hits. The logic behind the heat Glass doesn’t move heat around very well. When you score a cold piece, all that mechanical stress hits one tiny, microscopic point. That’s usually when things go south and the crack runs wild. By hitting the glass tube with short-wave infrared heat, we warm up the surface. This relaxes the material and lets out some of that internal stress. Instead of jagged, unpredictable edges, you get a clean, crisp break. It’s much more satisfying. Why we go with IR lamps We use high-density quartz halogen lamps for this. The reason is simple: they’re fast. The radiation sinks into the glass surface almost instantly. Unlike those big convection heaters that waste time warming up the air in the room, IR goes straight to the glass. But you have to be careful. If the heat is too low, you’re still dealing with chips. Too high? You’ll warp the tube or cause thermal shock. It’s all about finding that sweet spot between the wattage and how far the lamp sits from the glass. The tricky part Fitting these lamps into a cutting line isn’t always a walk in the park. Space is usually tight, and you have to get the emitter lined up perfectly with the scoring head. And here’s the thing: these lamps gethot. Really hot. If your sensors or belts are sitting too close, they’re going to fry. You’ll want to add some shielding or some forced-air cooling to keep your other gear from giving up the ghost prematurely.