Manufacturing is the process of turning raw materials into finished goods on a larger scale. Most companies develop a goal of manufacturing in house in efforts to increase profits and growth on a lead time that works for them and their customers. 

Most glass shops usually start edging their cut glass with a small Makita hand sander and eventually upgrade to an upright vertical belt sander. An upright belt sander allows for an easier sanding application to the edge of the glass rather than a hand sander application. The upright belt sander uses a support bar with rollers to rest your piece of glass while sanding giving you a cleaner and consistent ground edge.

 There are some pros and cons with upright belt sanders. The cons: messy glass dust in the air, limited to a ground sanded edge and can’t do over sized pieces safely. The Pros: very affordable piece of equipment, easier application than a hand sander,  and different grit belts can be used for various finish applications. 

Every company faces changes in the economy and the demand for different products from builders to homeowners. As companies grow so does the demand for specific glass products which can range from table tops, windows to shower doors or even store fronts. 

A common question we are constantly asked is what type of machine should we buy?  Our reply is always the same ” What type of edgework are you wanting to fabricate?” Rather than buying something too big or not suited for your specific application lets look at some topics to consider when thinking of upgrading from a vertical belt sander to an automatic edging machine. 

Step 1  – Footprint and shop space 

When considering purchasing an edging machine it is very important to decide where the machine should be placed . Most edging machine footprints range from 120” to 240” in length depending on the model. Other factors to consider is space behind the machine and the space on both the infeed and the outfeed section to load and unload glass sheets. 

Step 2 – Power 

It is very important to understand what electrical set up is currently in your building. Most smaller commercial strip mall building have standard single phase power. Depending on the machine model many edgers require 3 phase 220 or 440 volt power. If your building does not have 3 phase power a simple and cost effective solution would be to install a rotatory phase converter which will convert your single phase power to three phase power. It is also important to keep in mind how much equipment you currently have hooked up to avoid tripping your circuit breakers in your main service panel. 

Step 3 – Edgework

When deciding on an edging machine the most important question is ” what decide on the edgework you want to produce?”

To avoid a costly mistake by purchasing a machine that might have too many or not enough spindles its important to look at your current and repeat project’s to better understand your work flow rate. For example if you have a 5-10% request for thicker 3/8” and 1/2” glass polished every month and 30-40% for thinner 3/16”-1/4” mirror with a ground edge you might want to consider a 1 to 2 spindle edger edger or if you require a brighter polish edge than a 4 to 5 spindle edger machine.

If you are contemplating upgrading your machine or just starting out and need some advise drop us a line at

sales@hilditchenterprises.com