Moulds: Merkad

Moulds for tableware glass manufacturing

Emrah Savga* outlines some of the recent investments which have taken place at tableware glass mould manufacturer Merkad.

Merkad manufactures glass moulds, equipment and machine parts for the tableware glass industry all over the world.

The company has more than 36 years experience in manufacturing of tableware glass moulds. Today Merkad is a Tableware mould manufacturing factory specialist that offers Stainless Steel material with the ESR (Electro slug remelting) process, machining, design engineering for complete moulds, equipment and machine parts.

The company is located in Istanbul, Turkey with more than 80 employees and the latest machines. It continually researches and invests in new mould manufacturing technologies, machines, devices and design software to offer products with innovations with competitive prices and quick delivery.

Besides using high quality materials and day-by-day improving machining techniques, Merkad carries out continuous non-stop R&D studies, aiming at Free of Error’ manufacturing.

Behind Merkad’s growth and development, there is a focus on quality in every step of the production process.

Therefore, Merkad’s customers have the advantage of working with mould equipment that has a longer lifespan than its competitors and without the need of any extra processing during production.

Investment

Merkad has invested in technological Machining Centers in order to provide more capacity to its tableware clients who require high quality moulds for their glass production.

Merkad’s Production Department is equipped with 5 axis, 4 axis, 3 axis CNC High Speed Machining Centers, CNC Turn Milling Machines, CNC Turning Machines, 5 axis CNC Coordinate Measuring Machine, CNC Plasma Transfer Arc Welding Machine and other auxiliary machines.

Starting from the design phase, Merkad’s team collaborates with clients to find the best solutions, overcome possible difficulties in product design, finding and suggesting innovations and improvements, all by means of software simulations.

Merkad’s Engineering and Design department provides professional service for glass production, such as pressing, blowing, stretching, spinning and stemware processes, right up to the design of articles with related technical drawings, and 3D modelling.

This means important details can be calculated and reflected to technical drawings, such as: � Determining cooling profiles of plungers ; � Identifying dimensions and the area of exhaust holes in blow mould cavities; � Parison design and calculating the allowance of parison hanging in production of stretching stemware; and � Obtaining homogeneity, glass thickness and ovality on spinning moulds.

Engraving

The process for engraved moulds begins with a rough draft of the design required, which is then converted accurately into a 2D technical drawing. Dimensions and amounts of engraving on the mould are agreed after a discussion between Merkad and the client.

The next step is to convert the 2D image into a 3D relief using artistic CAD/CAM

Regardless of how hard and how complicated glass designs are, all possible problems that could effect engravings are eliminated during design process.

After the design details have been fi nalised, Merkad submits the data, supplied by DWG, Step or IGS data, to clients for approval. After fi nal confi rmation, engravings are applied to the moulds.

These processes give Merkad and its customers the opportunity to address any design elements that might be incorrect or cause problems such as the glass product splitting when it leaves the mould. The procedure is primarily computer-based and therefore, any modifi cations can be made quickly and easily.

software. A computer simulates different scenarios to test the overall design and feasibility of the mould once it is in use for production.

Being able to make all the balancing and homogenising glass volume distribution adjustments in this environment also guarantees a greater level of accuracy.

Merkad also successfully utilises for relief creating is Reverse Engineering. With this particular method, a sample relief model is scanned and then copied into 3D. After making all necessary and requested changes on the model, Merkad carries out the precise wrapping of the relief on a new base surface.

Merkad’s planning team also uses ERP software, in order to track all jobs through the production process. The production department keeps computerised schedules to stay ahead of each process and obtains current updates from all phases of production. This process enables the company to give and deliver its products on time to its clients.

Quality assurance

The main target of Merkad development is to increase the effi ciency and quality of the glass production of our customers with tableware moulds and equipment.

Merkad pays great attention to keep the quality of its products at international level and makes serious efforts to obtain further success of its brand, which has secured a special place in the glass industry.

As a result of these efforts, Merkad was awarded by the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Assurance System Certifi cate. Merkad also awarded with ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management System Certifi cate & ISO 45001:2015 Occupational Health & Safety Management System Certifi cate.

Merkad’s quality policy is to achieve the following objectives: � To ensure customer satisfaction and exceed customer expectations, � Improve and enhance product and service quality with a risk-based approach, continuously, � Increasing the competencies of its employees by ensuring their participation and satisfaction, � To improve cooperation with customers, � To make affordable, sustainable and high quality production by investing in advanced technology and trained labour resources.

Merkad concentrates greatly on maintaining the quality of its products. Production is controlled by taking submeasurements after each operation, and after passing 100% quality control, each product is supplied with fi nal control reports and material certifi cates.

The company has a 90% export rate which offers services to the world’s leading companies with our Design Center approved by the Turkish Republic Ministry of Industry and Technology. �

*Marketing Manager, Merkad, Istanbul, Turkey www.merkad.com