I am looking for a machine that can perform the following steps (or it
could be two machines):

1. Cut glass pipes of 2, 3 and 4 inches diameter and more or less 1/8"
wall thickness.
2. Polish (fire polish would be ideal) the edges of the pipes while
cutting them (must be shined) or it could be a separate machine that
does this process.

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Request for Question Clarification by alienintelligence-ga on 30 Nov 2004 01:12 PST

Hi cachuzo,

To avoid an oversimplified answer please
respond to a few questions.

After a quick search I realized the price
spread was large... what is your budget?

Do you require more than one machine 
suggestion for price or feature comparison?

When you say machine, does that involve
automation or will there still be a human
component for feeding?

How about the level of machine sophistication?
Do you desire a possible unforeseen feature?

What type of duty cycle will be required?

thanks,
-AI

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Clarification of Question by cachuzo-ga on 01 Dec 2004 22:50 PST

Hi AI,

Let me give you more detail of my project and research.

I come from a family of environmentalists and for the last 20 years I
have been working in the development of different forms to recycle
glass, plastic and clothes. One of my business is cutting glass
bottles to convert them into glasses.
I worked doing the job semi-manually in my country (Peru) because the
labor costs were really cheap. I moved here and continued with this
system, but in order for me to grow my business, I need to automatize
the process to save money in labor and make the product more appealing
for everybody.

1.  My budget is limited, but it is in direct relation to the speed of
cut and polish of the machine(s). I think we can begin with a steady
production of 20,000 pieces a month.

2.  I will require first one machine (or one set of machines) and
gradually grow, depending on business demand. Yes, I will like feature
comparisons and
price ranges.

3. The machine(s) will have to work in link with a convey belt that
will need manual feeding. The bottles could be standing up or down,
depending on the requirements of the cutting machine?

4.  I don't have money for prototypes. I'm looking for something that
already exists--even if it is used for a different purpose--and adapt
it to my necessities.

I have looked into the following options:

-  Water jet cutting machine: the problem is that this are expensive
and slow. Besides, they do not polish the borders after cut, so I will
need an extra machine to do the job. Remember, these are for glasses,
so they need to be polished or fire-polished to avoid bacteria
sticking in the pourous borders.

-  Laser cutting machine: that not only cuts but improves the edge
strenght by 30% and this could be made I think with a laser CO2 in
combination with a torche that fire polishes the borders (if
necessary).  I have requested information from different companies
that I found through www.globalspec.com.  One of our main problems is
that I don't speak English well enough to ask the proper questions.
That's why I am looking for somebody to do the research for me.

I also made a research of other companies that process the bottles
like me, and came across this one:
http://www.joburg.org.za/aug_2002/beer.stm

Thanks for helping me and our home, our planet.

Cachuzo