Old Caste Glass
Glass Manufacturing
The Old Caste Glass project could very possibly be one of the largest single machinery installations in all of Long Island.
When Old Caste Glass came to us with new spec sheets on a piece of equipment they had just ordered for their glass manufacturing plants, we thought they had made a mistake. The tempering line machine required a minimum of 3101 amps on a 480 volt, and an additional new compressor was needed, which added another 600 amp load to the project.
During the design stage of the process, we realized that our biggest challenges were going to be time and space. The machine needed to be delivered and operating in six months. We also had to find space for all the installations. We installed blower units and control cabinets in an office that was cleared out for the new machine. We also needed room to install two new 2500 amp 480 volt 3-phase services. With only six months to go, we really had to speed up the process, especially since the switchgear wasn’t scheduled to arrive for another 16-18 weeks, and we still needed the power authorities to sign off on the design.
The equipment manufacturer, Tamglass, presented strict requirements on special design cooling dampers and current transformers for heating elements. We started with setting control panels for the equipment, which consisted of eight control panels and one main control station. Since the switchgear wasn’t coming in for another few weeks, we had to start piping with the basic layout that Tamglass provided. We broke ground outside and began to bury vaults and piping for secondary wiring. Meanwhile, inside, a second crew began running parallels for motor cabinets and a new compressor unit.
Working in collaboration with the manufacturer and local power authorities, D&D was able to move forward on the project without even having the equipment. When we finally received the switch gear, our crew worked through the night to deliver on our promise to have our client up and running in time. The result: the unit was installed and ready a full week ahead of an extremely tight deadline.
