ABB Robots in Glass and Window Fabrication

From hand-cut panes in 1946 to Glaston's muntin-feeding cobot at GlassBuild 2026, and how ABB IRB 6700 and GoFa robots handle heavy, fragile glass.

INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS

Chat With Robot

9/26/20261 min read

In 1946 a German glazier still cut each pane by hand. He scored the sheet with a diamond, snapped it over a straight edge and puttied it into a wooden frame. Double glazing was rare, and any double-glazed window was assembled on a bench by a skilled worker.

Black and white photo of a glazier in a hat cutting a sheet of glass on a bench
Black and white photo of a glazier in a hat cutting a sheet of glass on a bench

A glazier at work in Germany, August 1946. Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S74736 / Heinscher (CC BY-SA 3.0 DE)

Factories took over the frame later. Profile lines now cut, weld and clean PVC or wood sections by machine, and insulating glass units are sealed on long automated lines. A few fiddly jobs stayed manual, such as placing the thin muntin bars that make a window look divided.

Worker at a control panel beside a conveyor carrying a white window frame
Worker at a control panel beside a conveyor carrying a white window frame

A worker runs a machine on a window frame production line. Photo: Shixart1985 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

At GlassBuild America in Las Vegas this September, Glaston showed its MUNTIN'MASTER with a cobot add-on that feeds the bars in automatically. Glaston calls it the removal of the last manual touchpoint in that step. With Corning, it also showed triple- and quadruple-pane units made with ultra-thin Corning Enlighten Glass.

Cut-away wooden window profile showing two glass panes separated by a spacer
Cut-away wooden window profile showing two glass panes separated by a spacer

Cross-section of a wooden window with an insulated glass unit and spacer. Photo: Kozuch / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

ABB robots already handle large, fragile panels. In Chur, Switzerland, an ABB IRB 6700 lifts glass-fronted solar modules for dhp technology. For this kind of work the vacuum gripper and a smooth, controlled path count for more than raw speed.

Large ABB robot with a vacuum gripper lifting a flat glass panel in a factory
Large ABB robot with a vacuum gripper lifting a flat glass panel in a factory

An ABB IRB 6700 handling a glass-fronted solar module at dhp technology, Chur. Photo: ABB

At Absolicon in Sweden, ABB robots help build glass-covered solar collectors on a compact line. Lighter jobs, like feeding muntin bars or spacer frames, suit an ABB GoFa cobot. It can work next to people without a fence, and an operator can move it by hand to teach it a new position.

White ABB robot arm above a curved glass solar collector on a production line
White ABB robot arm above a curved glass solar collector on a production line

An ABB robot on Absolicon's solar collector line in Harnosand, Sweden. Photo: ABB

Windows are getting heavier as triple glazing spreads, and big units are hard to lift safely by hand. I expect more lines where robots lift and place the glass while people check quality and install it on site. Maybe one day a small arm will help a homeowner swap an old single pane for a thin triple unit.

Woman moving the arm of an ABB GoFa cobot by hand at a workbench
Woman moving the arm of an ABB GoFa cobot by hand at a workbench

An ABB GoFa cobot being guided by hand to teach a new position. Photo: ABB

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