Is your IGU line starving for glass?
The bottleneck isn't usually the sealing robot—it's the chaos upstream. When lites for the same unit are scattered across different A-frames, your operators waste valuable cycle time searching and handling. The Mini Harp Rack isn't just storage; it is the ultimate "lite pairing" engine that sequences your glass before it hits the washer, eliminating sorting errors and reducing edge damage on sensitive Low-E coatings.
In high-volume fabrication plants—whether you are processing custom architectural glass or standard insulated glass units (IGUs)—workflow efficiency is dictated by how fast you can pair the inboard and outboard lites. Using static A-frames for WIP (Work-in-Progress) storage often forces operators into a "search and rescue" mission: hunting for the matching 6mm tempered lite buried behind five other sheets.
This double-handling is the primary cause of two major profit killers:
The Glass Harp Rack solves this by turning storage into a sequential filing system.
Numbered slots allow for perfect sequencing of IGU components, reducing assembly errors.
Unlike bulk storage racks, the Mini Harp Rack is designed for singular accessibility. As shown in the image above, the base features a high-density array of Nylon rollers paired with distinct numbering strips (e.g., slots 1-40). This allows CNC operators to load glass in the exact order required by the IGU assembly line.
When the rack arrives at the washer or pairing station, there is no guessing. Slot 1 matches Slot 2. The throughput speed increases immediately because the logic is built into the hardware.
The structural integrity of a Harp Rack Glass Trolley is critical when handling sensitive materials. Cheaply made racks use bare metal or thin shrink tubing that wears through after a few months of heavy loading.
Heavy-duty PVC sleeved rods ensure zero metal-to-glass contact, protecting sensitive Low-E coatings.
Our racks utilize steel rods encased in thick, industrial-grade PVC sleeves (as seen above). This provides a non-marring cushion that separates each lite. Whether you are moving raw float glass or post-tempered sheets, the glass touches only the Nylon rollers at the bottom and the PVC guides on the sides. This isolation is essential for maintaining the yield rates required by top-tier architectural glass fabricators.
A loaded rack can weigh over 2,000 lbs. Moving this mass safely across a concrete factory floor requires more than standard hardware store casters. In a busy glass plant, a "runaway cart" is a severe safety hazard.
The integrated foot-actuated floor lock secures the rack during loading and unloading.
We equip our Mini Harp Racks with a dedicated Foot-Actuated Lifting Mechanism/Floor Lock. Unlike simple wheel brakes which can slip on glass dust or oil, this mechanism (pictured above) physically anchors the rack to the floor. This provides a stable platform for operators to slide heavy glass sheets in and out without the rack shifting, significantly reducing back strain and the risk of dropping a lite.
One of the historic issues with sourcing glass racks is shipping air. Welded structures take up massive amounts of truck or container space, driving up the landed cost per unit. We have engineered a Bolt-Together (Knock-Down) design that maintains the rigidity of a welded frame while allowing for flat-packing.
As demonstrated in the layout above, the base, uprights, and grid systems are modular. This allows you to maximize container loading density, reducing your freight costs significantly while ensuring you have the necessary quantity of racks to feed your tempering and IGU lines without interruption.
1. Can the Mini Harp Rack handle heavy laminate glass?
Yes. While "Mini" refers to the footprint, the structure is Q235A Carbon Steel. The base is reinforced to handle the weight of laminated glass sheets. However, for extremely thick multi-ply laminates (over 1 inch), we recommend checking the slot width specification to ensure fit.
2. What is the standard slot width between the harp strings?
We offer customizable spacing. For standard IGU production (handling 3mm to 6mm singles), a tighter spacing is used to maximize density. For laminated or thicker monolithic glass, we can widen the gap to prevent binding during loading.
3. Do the Nylon rollers damage the glass edge?
No. The Nylon rollers are specifically chosen because they are softer than glass but hard enough to carry the weight. They allow the glass to glide smoothly without chipping the bottom edge, which is a common issue with steel-lined slots.
4. Can this rack go into a tempering furnace?
No. This is a transport and storage rack featuring PVC and Nylon components which would melt. It is designed to transport glass to the furnace load table and take tempered glass from the unload table to the IGU line.
5. Is the rack assembly difficult?
The assembly is straightforward using a bolt-together design. As shown in the flat-pack image, components are pre-drilled and aligned. A small team can assemble a unit in minutes using standard tools, making it easy to deploy new racks as your production volume scales.
