IMT NE – Arc R&D

The overall objective of the ARC France – IMT Nord Europe partnership is to develop innovative systems for the production of glass items dedicated to tableware, a sector in which ARC is one of the world’s leaders. In terms of production, the increased demands of client specifications, in terms of production quality, but also limiting environmental impact, require greater expertise and more in-depth, precise knowledge of manufacturing processes.

The research work follows on from a CIFRE thesis defended in 2015. A significant share of production is heat-treated to guarantee use properties stipulated in specifications. The research focuses in particular on the development and implementation of a heat treatment model, but also the digital simulation of different cooling systems used on production lines or on the R&D pilot plant (heat treatments for the brewing market, lip treatment, belt treatment). Other developments, also via modeling and digital simulations supported by experimental measurements, are dedicated to the cooling of molds used for production of items by centrifugation, which represent a very significant share of Arc’s markets. In addition, digital simulations of hyperelastic deformations of the silicone of decorative pads aim to improve the capability of decorating machines.