*Specifications subject to change without notice.

Gen-3 TLC Phoenix-600^® & TLC Summit Gen-5^®
High-Accuracy Mechanical Rectilinear/SHAPES Glass Cutting Equipment

TLC International, Phoenix, Arizona USA, manufacturers Gen-3 and Gen-5 computer-controlled, high-accuracy mechanical glass cutting/scribing machines suitable for R&D, start-up, and full-production facilities. TLC’s high-accuracy glass cutting equipment is designed to meet close-tolerance singulation requirements of most specialty thin flat glass/substrate industries.  Precision processing of flat panel displays (FPDs), photovoltaic cells, dichroic/color filters, TFT-LCDs, optical components, electrochromic mirrors, microdisplays, cosmetic mirrors, medical/laboratory microslides/slip covers, sensors, medical imaging panels, entertainment lighting gobos, and a myriad of other component manufacturing all fall within the scope of TLC machine capabilities.

Age-old proven mechanical cutting is clean, fast and dry, requiring no contaminating oil/water. Without cameras mounted on the gantry, the machine surface is unobstructed, providing easy load/unload and incorporation into automated production lines. The stage is stationary (does not rotate).  Auto-calibration of wheel placement accuracy after changing consumable tooling ensures consistent, precision tolerance and high afterbreak yields.  Cutting speed varies, depending on part size and shape. X-Y scribe motion is dual-directional. Both machines are clean-room compatible.

TLC is the only equipment of its kind in the world that will precisely align rectilinear (X-Y), multilinear (trapezoid, hexagon, parallelogram), circular, curvilinear and free-form parts on single sheet or laminated substrates/panels.  The stationary stages accommodate most conventional Gen-3 and Gen-5 substrate sizes, maintaining ‘flat’ over a long period of use. The proprietary TLC rotating cutting head incorporates a single CCD camera for quick target set-up, onstage measurement/inspection and absolute repeatable alignment. 

Commercial off-the-shelf (COS) electronic components eliminate expensive sole-source, proprietary vendor middle-mark-up pricing.  Replacement is fast and efficient, as most all components are generally readily available directly from most local electronics retail businesses.

TLC’s operating system is PC Windows®-based with custom TLC software incorporating user-friendly GUI operator screens.  The SHAPES cutting program seamlessly interfaces with AutoCAD® (.dxf) files.  Circles and filet-cornered rectangles are standard pre-programmed shapes, with instantaneous scalability for most part shapes.  Changing parts is quick and simple.  There is no limit to the number of programs that can be stored, with instant recall repeatability.  No other computer-controlled, mechanical glass cutting equipment is available in the world at a more affordable cost that will cut SHAPES, as well as rectilinear parts with repeatable accuracy.

Engineering/design development and custom TLC software provide maximum utilization of single sheet and laminated substrate real estate.  Layout is no longer limited to rows, columns and single shapes.  Full sheet "nesting/clustering” provides optimum use of expensive substrates.  For increased savings, differently shaped configurations on the same motherglass give design flexibility, increased per-sheet number of parts, and higher yields.

Consumable tooling offered by TLC includes a full line of axles, wheelholders, restrainers, and conversion wheelholders to accommodate other glass cutting equipment, as well as a wide variety of tungsten carbide, platinum and diamond cutting wheels.

Providing high reliability, easy operation, and simple maintenance, TLC’s equipment is an affordable addition to any existing or startup specialty thin flat glass cutting facility. Customers report one-two year return on investment for TLC equipment, if the machines are utilized to maximum capacity.

TLC International is a well-established leader in global glass cutting industries. Customers include industry giants 3M, DuPont, Corning, GE and military and aerospace facilities.  A full range of close-tolerance mechanical cutting solutions is available from TLC: affordable equipment, Outsource R&D Technical Glass Cutting Lab, 24/7 technical support, TLC ServiTrain^® /ServiCheck^® Programs, consumable tooling, spare parts, samples processing, prototype and process development consulting.  TLC’s global presence continues steady growth, with satisfied customers in North American, European, Scandinavian and Asian theaters.