A Heating Element System For A Forehearth Redesign

A two year project was recently undertaken in a major glass plant. Its aim was to improve production efficiency, increase capacity, reduce energy consumption and maintain or improve glass quality by building and installing a larger furnace. An external engineering consultancy and in-house engineers were responsible for the overall project management, which involved both the melter and forehearth as part of a forehearth redesign project. The heating specialist Kanthal was responsible for the design and production of forehearth heating elements; the firm supplied Superthal heating modules fitted with Kanthal Super CS elements. The project is described here briefly.