Inventive mind explores the many facets of glass
Print Edition
WHEN the conversation turns to inventions, Weng Yongping becomes animated.
“Wanna see my newest gadgets?” he asks, with obvious excitement. “You’ve come at just the right time.”
The 53-year-old engineer at a glass factory in Yexie Town has received 38 patents for his inventions in the past 11 years. He was recently one of the first 88 people honored as “Shanghai craftsmen,” a municipal project aimed at encouraging innovation.
His inventions include glass fused with porcelain and metal, an arc glass plate, a streetlight powered by wind or solar energy, an electric shuttered window with insulating glass, a window alarm system, heat-insulating glass and explosion-proof glass.
“A good invention should be both good looking and practical,” Weng explained. “Its ultimate goal should be to make life easier for people. But it does require ceaseless testing and experimentation to turn an idea into a valuable product.”
One of his proudest inventions was the electric shuttered window with insulating glass, which won him a technical innovation award from the Shanghai Construction Industry Association in 2011.
It took Weng about two years and more than 10,000 experiments to install a shutter between two glass plates and to ensure they would work in tandem.
“Modern functional glass allows people indoors to enjoy the sunshine but also serves as a decorative shield from heat and noise,” the engineer said.
Three decades ago, Weng was a young, fresh mechanic working in a machine-tool shop. “I loved the job,” he said. “It gave me great satisfaction.”
However, after a series of illnesses, he left that job and began working at the Yaojiang Glass Factory, a totally new industry to him.
Weng was in charge of glass product development. He worked in a small, poorly ventilated studio, where he buried himself in books on glass manufacturing and sketches of new products.
“It’s never too old to learn,” he said brightly.
Weng tried to adapt his mechanical engineering experience to glass production.
“Glass with heating, with chemistry, with electricity — it all opened a new world for me,” he said.
Weng kept abreast of digital technologies that he used to create a window alarm system. Each piece of glass has a “digital address” that can record various environmental statistics. When the glass is broken or develops a tiny crack, the alarm will be sounded and notification by smartphone will pinpoint the problem.
“With the application of digital technology, glass can be turned into an ‘intelligent’ product that helps safeguard the home,” he said.
He has even bigger visions for the future. Weng currently is working on window glass embedded with temperature sensors that can track the energy consumption in a room. At the same time, “intelligent” glass can monitor the light transmittance and heat transfer to help adjust lighting systems to save energy.
If applied to a car, the window glass can monitor the temperature and automatically turn on the air-conditioning system. Any broken or chipped class will sound an alarm for the driver.
“Glass products have to be tightly linked with technology and should be developed in a way useful to people,” Weng said.
A sideline interest is mentoring younger talent.
“I don’t really care who it is,” Weng said. “I am happy to apprentice anyone who is honest and willing to learn. I also learn a lot from young people because they always have fresh ideas.”
He often recalled his own mentor in the machine factory 30 years ago, who taught him how to be a qualified mechanic and a scrupulous worker.
“My teacher wouldn’t give me answers directly,” Weng said. “Rather, he encouraged me to find solutions by myself, helping me out only when I was stuck at a dead end. That’s the method I use in teaching my apprentices.”
Weng has formed his own development team in the field of glass. In 2011, he and his team improved upon the 30KWp photovoltaic power generation system, installing a model on the factory roof. It was the first industrial use of solar power in Songjiang.
“Craftsmanship, in my opinion, requires 100 percent attention and loads of patience,” Weng said. “From a mechanic to an engineer, I have enjoyed every working day and don’t plan to stop anytime soon.”
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