With uses that range from electric furnace heating elements, spray metallizing, rocket skirts, cones, heat shields, zinc refining pumps, switch electrodes and tools for metalworking – Molybdenum is also highly commended for its use as a high performance electrode for melting glass in the glass manufacturing industry.The glass industry is a major consumer of metallic molybdenum electrodes, with experience demonstrating molybdenum to be a superior material for electric heating during smelting of glass and basalt.Used in the manufacturing process from broad-spectrum glass, glass fibre and optical glass to insulation materials – glass melting electrodes must be able to tolerate extremely aggressive glass melts with intensely high temperatures.
Currently in the US alone, the glass manufacturing industry is a $28 billion enterprise with millions of tons of glass melted and produced everyday by the use of high performance molybdenum. To address this $28 billion demand, Plansee offers molybdenum which has proven to be the ultimate effective electrode for melting glass.
Wherever operating temperatures and chemical requirements exceed the limits of conventional materials, such as iron, copper or nickel – molybdenum electrodes stands out with unique properties that include the following:
- A low coefficient of heat expansion;
- Good electrical and thermal conductivity;
- High dimensional stability;
- Melting point of 2 620 °C (4 748 °F);
- No influence on the colour or transparency of glass;
- Oxidation and creep resistance;
- Resistance to corrosion in molten solutions; and
- Special glass melting electrode quality.
As the leading South African agents for Plansee International, we at Labotec Industrial Technologies (LIT) are the experts for components manufactured from tungsten, tantalum, niobium, chromium and molybdenum. Distinguished and respected for working with the most up-to-date technologies, we are renowned for superior product quality and performance.
Using only the purest molybdenum oxide, our glass melting molybdenum electrode products are produced by means of powder metallurgical processes and are characterised particularly by their chemical purity. Our glass melting electrodes possess a particularly smooth surface, thus guaranteeing that our glass melting molybdenum electrodes are free of any contamination.
At Labotec Industrial Technologies, we can manufacture electrodes according to your precise specifications. Setting a new standard within the industry for efficiency in glass production and electrical heating with glass melting molybdenum electrode products, you can expect improved glass quality, increased productivity, higher flexibility regarding tonnage output and environmentally friendly production with reduced CO2 emissions.
Wherever traditional materials are stretched beyond their limits, you can always count on Labotec Industrial Technologies to be at the forefront of supplying the latest technology. Having developed international processes and quality standard benchmarks, our expertise regarding applications in the glass and metals industry ensures that we can provide our customers with the most innovative solutions when it comes to melting and welding techniques.
Contact us today to learn more about our products and awards, or browse our online catalogue for more information about our molybdenum electrode products and applications.