Getting into shape: Thermix® TX.N® plus in semi-circular insulating glass elements

The new building, which provides adequate space for the administration, warehouse and production, was completed at the beginning of June 2015.There is now nothing preventing the move from the previous headquarters of Ensinger Austria to its new site in Seewalchen.

In the completely glazed front of the building, it goes without saying that Ensinger's own Thermix® warm edge spacers were used. The design posed a special challenge for insulating glass manufacturer Wenna Glas and the Thermix® team. The entrance area of the new building contains semi-circular glass elements. In what was a first for both manufacturers, they were required to mount a rigid spacer into this type of curved element.

This solution called for plenty of expertise and skilled manual work by both parties: Initially a template on a scale of 1:1 was produced with an arc length of 2126 mm for the required bent Thermix profile from Ensinger. Using this as a basis, a manual roll former was then converted accordingly. This allowed the spacers to be pre-fabricated by Ensinger in the correct length and precise radius. At Wenna Glas, the pre-fabricated profiles were filled with desiccant, fitted with butyl tape and inserted using corner keys to produce the required frames. Construction of the sealed units took place using a special frame step by step, starting with the internal pane. Finally the panes were pressed with the aid of one-handed clamps and then sealed using secondary sealant.

The total of ten semi-circular elements are triple glazed units made of plain and in some cases laminated safety glass. The elements have a fixed arc length of 2126 mm, a radius of 2635 mm and a height of between 845 mm and 1940 mm.