Stop sacrificing your yield rate at the sorting station.
Between the CNC cutting table and the IGU assembly line, your glass is most vulnerable. Scratched Low-E coatings, mismatched pairs, and "wobbly" 6mm lites on standard A-frames are costing you money. The IG Unit Assembly Rack (Harp Rack) is the dedicated WIP buffer designed to eliminate breakage and streamline the pairing process for insulated glass manufacturing.
In a high-volume glass fabrication plant—whether you are Glasswerks or a specialized local fabricator—the workflow bottleneck often isn't the tempering furnace or the washing machine; it's the logistics between them. Standard A-frame racks or L-bucks are excellent for shipping or bulk storage, but they are terrible for the dynamic process of sorting and pairing (sequencing) glass lites for Insulated Glass Units (IGUs).
When your operators have to dig through a stack of leaning glass to find the matching lite for a spacer frame, the risk of surface damage skyrockets. This is especially critical for soft-coat Low-E glass, where a single hairline scratch means rejecting the entire unit.
High-density sorting: Each lite gets its own slot, preventing surface-to-surface contact.
The Harp Rack gets its name from the tensioned strings of a harp, mimicking how the steel wires (covered in PVC) separate the glass. Unlike bulk storage, this rack is a Work-In-Progress (WIP) tool.
Here is how it solves the specific pain points of the IGU line:
This is not a generic material cart; it is built for the specific abuse of a glass fabrication environment. From the presence of glass dust to the impact of heavy loading, every component is selected for durability.
We offer two distinct base types depending on your glass thickness and handling preference:
Detail of the numbered roller system: Fast sequencing for CNC operators.
The dividers are the heart of the IG Unit Assembly Rack. We use a steel core for rigidity (so the divider doesn't bend under the weight of a heavy lite) but encapsulate it in a thick PVC Casing. The bottom rests are lined with industrial rubber buffer strips. This ensures that the glass edge—the most fragile part of the lite—is cushioned against shock during factory transport.
Moving glass is dangerous. Inertia can cause sheets to slide out when a cart hits a bump or stops suddenly. Our racks come equipped with a Foot-Actuated Lifting Mechanism. When the rack reaches the washing station or the sealing robot, the operator steps on the pedal. This lifts the glass off the rollers and locks it against a rubber backstop, making it immovable until the pedal is released.
Designed for wholesale glass fabricators and window manufacturers, these specs ensure compatibility with standard manufacturing equipment.
| Feature | Specification | Production Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Material | Q235A Carbon Steel (Square/Rectangular Tube) | High load capacity (up to 3,300 lbs / 1500kg) for heavy laminated glass stacks. |
| Assembly Type | Knock-Down (Bolted Assembly) | Significantly reduces shipping costs (Flat-Pack) and allows easy replacement of damaged parts. |
| Surface Treatment | Electrostatic Powder Coating | Resistant to chips and corrosion from glass cutting fluids and humidity. |
| Divider Coating | PVC Casing over Steel Rod | Prevents "metal-on-glass" contact, saving Low-E and soft coatings. |
| Mobility | Heavy-Duty Polyurethane Casters (2 Fixed, 2 Swivel with Brake) | Smooth rolling over concrete joints to prevent vibration cracks in large lites. |
The Knock-Down design saves huge freight costs for international glass fabricators.
1. Can this rack handle wet glass coming directly out of the CNC cutter or washer?
Yes. The IG Unit Assembly Rack is powder-coated (electrostatic spraying) to resist rust. The PVC casings and nylon rollers are impervious to water and cutting fluids, making it ideal for the wet section of your production line.
2. We process 6mm and 12mm glass. Can the slot width be customized?
Absolutely. While standard slots are designed for versatility, we can customize the spacing to be tighter for 6mm production runs (to prevent wobbling) or wider for laminated glass sheets. We recommend specifying your primary glass thickness range when ordering.
3. How does this compare to an A-Frame for WIP storage?
A-Frames are for bulk storage (storage density). Harp Racks are for process speed (selectivity). If you need to pick a specific sheet from the middle of a stack without moving the others (e.g., for pairing IGU sides), you need a Harp Rack. If you are just storing crates of raw float glass, use an A-Frame.
4. Will the nylon rollers mark the glass edge?
No. We use high-grade industrial nylon that is tough enough to support the weight but soft enough not to chip or spall the glass edge. This is critical for tempered glass processing where edge quality dictates breakage rates in the furnace.
5. Can we replace the PVC tubes if they get cut over time?
Yes. Because of the bolted, knock-down design, the divider rods and their PVC sleeves can be replaced individually. You don't need to scrap the whole rack if one divider gets damaged by a careless forklift operator.
