Glass, gold and gorgeous: Goldglass M.R.C-2350-CI

A new technology, brought to our shores by FG Trading, is set to open up a whole new world of creative avenues to architects. Manufacturers and glass processors can now use Goldglass to offer architects back-painted glass for a wide variety of novel applications.

“This is a market we’ve identified with plenty of scope for growth. This new system allows for smaller runs with greater variety without the issues that commonly affect production,” Stuart Fraser, Managing Director of FG Trading tells ‘Architect and Specificator. For Stuart one of the other advantages of the Goldglass machine is the fact that it will provide local organisations with the ability to create market demand.

FG Trading is a Johannesburg-based company and a leading supplier to the glass, glazing, fenestration and construction industries. The company sees itself as a one-stop-shop and solution provider borne out by the introduction of the Goldglass M.R.C 2350-CI Automatic Painting Machine.

“This is a relatively new technology in the architectural glass market and is designed specifically for painting solid colours onto the back of glass. Traditionally, a roll coater was used but this method is more suitable for high volumes in single colours rather than small volumes across the colour spectrum.”

Whereas the roll coater requires a significant time investment, especially when a colour change is required, and its efficiency depends on the speed of the operators, the new Goldglass machine allows for a number of swift colour changes, taking as little as five minutes.

Meeting architectural demands

“The Goldglass machine is very well suited to the South African market as we tend to have smaller volumes, but far more variety in colour” says Stuart. “There is no other machine like it in the country. Another advantage is that it can use both ceramic and organic paints and it can do metallic paints, which a roll coater can’t do. All these qualities give the process a lot more flexibility in order to meet the architect’s demands and it’s environmentally-friendly to boot.”

“The traditional roll coater sees a lot of paint wastage that the Goldglass machine can avoid, thereby saving our clients’ money and ensuring that their operations become even more efficient,” adds Stuart. “Using a roll coating system it would not be financially practical for a business to do smaller runs with a number of different colours as you would waste far too much paint. The Goldglass machine has a very low paint consumption of 150-180 grams per square metre and a lot of paint is saved.

“Anybody who has this type of equipment will now be able to stimulate the market for back-painted glass for the facades of buildings.”

Little wastage

Designed by the company Goldglass, the MRC 2350-CI Automatic Painting Machine uses automatic shape detection to ensure a perfect finish, high-quality and self-contained extraction. It is environmentally friendly thanks to its improved processing and paint swapping capabilities and the integrated extraction system removes fumes into a dust collector unit so the machine can be placed anywhere, in any setting, without the need for a clean room or masks.

“The machine is able to sense the size of the glass so it automatically stops spraying when it reaches the edge of the glass,” Stuart explains. It will also stop spraying wherever there are holes or cut-outs in the glass so there is very little wastage. There is no over spraying of precut holes and it also allows for seamless painting of shaped glass without excessive waste.”

The pressurised hood ensures that the Goldglass can be used in an open factory without damage to the environment or employees, and without impacting the quality of the paint. Thanks to the ingenious design, a clean room is no longer necessary as dust cannot penetrate into the interior or onto the glass.

A perfect finish

“Normally the South African market has people doing this work spray painting by hand,” says Stuart. “The quality and consistency that is needed for a perfect finish is just not possible. With this machine you get the same high quality every single time.”

The advanced technology built into the Goldglass machine means that speed is also very much on the agenda, one that any organisation in this industry will appreciate. In an 8 hour shift the machine can achieve a capacity of 120-130 square metres. This can potentially triple the speeds achieved by the conventional hand spraying method and the quality is both consistent and precise.

“The technology is exceptional and it also allows for fantastic user control,” says Stuart. “There is a 7-inch soft-touch screen in any language that allows for complete control of the work and an automatic cleaning system that removes excess paint in only a few minutes. The machine is kept clean, can be used on demand and it is easy enough to allow for usage by multiple operators.”

Bringing the Goldglass M.R.C 2350-CI Automatic Painting Machine into South Africa looks set to transform the local market and potentially ignite an industry. It boasts a unique set of features, saves on costs and is self-contained and capable. It is also the exclusive remit of FG Trading. “We have found that our clients are responding positively from the get-go to this product and what it can do,” concludes Stuart.

Source: Architect & Specificator, November/December 2015

Read magazine on www.promech.co.za