Let glass become "invisible curtains"

A comparison of the Zhongzhi Tonghui dimming glass installed at the Xinguang Tiandi Song Inspection Center in Beijing
Company technicians are working on the production of dimming glass
Zhao Qin, the general manager, briefed reporters on the research and development of dimming glass. "I'm not making glass." Zhao Qin, general manager, likes to explain the company's business with others.

Of course, he did not do ordinary glass. Instead, it is a dimming glass (STG) that has the effect of "power-on, transparent, power-off frosted." The magic of this kind of glass is "the shape of the glass, the function of the curtain", and the most important technique is the light adjustment film (STF) used in the glass sandwich.

To be precise, Beijing Zhongzhi Tonghui Co., Ltd. at the beginning of its establishment only wanted to promote this magic LCD liquid crystal film (STF) to the market. However, because many glass deep-processing companies are skeptical about this innovative high-tech product, they would rather purchase expensive dimming glass products for sale at higher prices overseas, rather than try to buy domestic dimming films and produce their own dimming glass products. Forced by the market, Beijing Zhongzhi Tonghui Co., Ltd. Zhao Qin had to change from "doing film" to "doing glass." Unexpectedly, this has actually become the country's number one, and it has become the only Chinese company among the four companies with the core technology of dimming glass in the world today.

Independent research and development of "membrane" into the market "Our technology first originated from a US invention patent of the company's chief scientist in the 1980s." There are two other Chinese Americans who started business with Zhao Qin. One of them is this. The inventor of the patent. After the invention was made, in nearly 20 years, there was no R&D and production of the product in China.

It is not simply possible to industrialize the results of a laboratory. It can only be achieved through continuous experiments and constant investigations. In 2004, Zhongzhi Tonghui began to introduce the first-generation production line, put into the professional production of the dimming film, and then sold it to domestic glass manufacturers for the production of dimming glass. However, due to the great difference between dimming glass and ordinary glass, the degree of refinement is much higher than that of ordinary glass. In addition, the price of dimming glass is high and the market is limited. Ordinary glass manufacturers do not want to make great efforts. As a result, Zhong Zhi Tonghui had to produce dimming film and began to extend the product to the client to produce the dimming glass itself.

In fact, the dimming glass does have the effect that cannot be matched by the traditional curtain: it is an electronic light valve without any mechanical transmission; the operation is extremely simple, and instant switching can be achieved within 0.1 seconds by one switch; easy to clean; A safety glass similar to a windshield of a car, in the state of power off, is in a frosted state, “transparent without light”, saving electricity for indoor lighting, and the power consumption per square meter per day is less than 0.1 degrees; Millions of switches; better sound insulation and UV protection.

“The dimming glass is made by combining the dimming film in the bright side (two pieces) transparent glass plate by the dry gluing process. The working principle of the dimming glass is to make the electricity transparent and transparent by the principle of scattering and transmitting light from the polymer dispersed liquid crystal. Power off frosted." Zhao Qin introduced the name of the plastic film dimmer LCD film, the preparation of this film, the ratio of liquid crystal and synthetic resin, curing method and curing conditions and other process conditions are all very important influence factor.

In fact, at the beginning, China was not the same as the public. In Jiangsu, a government-sponsored returnee company is investing 200 million yuan to step up R&D and production, which makes Zhongzhi Tonghui, who only started investing 2 million yuan, is in distress: many customers are more likely to go to large companies than two companies. .

However, in Zhao Qin’s view, large companies are like trains, but they are fast but not easy to turn around. Once the direction of R&D is wrong, it will be a fatal blow. In contrast, small businesses are more like carriages, although some children will make The carriages can't go through, but they can adjust their directions in a timely manner and turn around to make progress. In 2006, in the market rules, this big company crashed down, and Zhihui Tonghui became the “outstanding” by relying on the flexibility and innovation of small businesses, and quickly won the order of a major construction project like the National Grand Theatre. Good reputation, opened the door to the market, and won large customers such as China Telecom and IBM, opened the market channels.

Product innovation upgrade Zhao Qin has absolute confidence in the product market, but in practical applications, due to the wide range of customer demand, so that the public has to make great efforts to make a fuss in the "magnitude" of the dimmer film .

In the process of upgrading, due to the increasing width, the control of uniformity is a problem that needs attention. The control of the uniformity of the thickness of the liquid crystal-plastic core during the formation and the control of the uniformity of heat during the heat curing process all affect the quality and performance of the product. Zhongzhi Tonghui adopts advanced and innovative technologies to solve the above problems, including the improvement of dimming film production equipment, and the upgrading of curing equipment and processes, thereby achieving precise process control.

Due to the technical know-how involved, Zhao Qin did not explain the improvement of the process. From the first generation of products 900mm wide, to the second generation 1200mm wide, to the third generation 1600mm wide, to the fourth generation 1800mm wide, each time the product is upgraded with the improvement of optical indicators and electrical indicators, reduce haze And reduce power consumption. At present, Zhongzhi Tonghui's dimming glass products have a haze of less than 8%, a transmittance of over 70%, and a power consumption of less than 3W per square meter, achieving low power consumption and high performance of products.

The company has perfect and strict operating procedures for every procedure, and does not allow any violations. The quality inspection department has strict control procedures for product quality in accordance with corporate standards. Unqualified products are never allowed to flow to the market; The core technology of optical glass, and can obtain first-hand demand information and customer suggestions from customers, thus improving product performance according to market demand, and being market-oriented, so products are welcomed after they are introduced to the market.

For example, 1800mm wide dimming glass products are popular in hotel bathrooms. Premium hotel bathrooms generally have 1700mm bathtubs. On the market, 1200mm and 1500mm products often require two or three splicing strips to completely block the bathtub. The 1800 type dimming glass can be achieved only in one piece, not only beautiful atmosphere, but also Moreover, the safety performance is good; in addition, even if not using 1800mm wide, Zhizhi Tonghui's seamless splicing dimming glass is even better.

The encouragement mechanism encourages research and development to allow Zhao Qin to be proud of the fact that there are currently more than 80 companies engaged in the production of dimming glass products in China. Except for Zhong Zhi Tonghui, other companies are engaged in purchasing dimming film and processing materials. In production, only Zhongzhi Tonghui uses its own film, and its products have occupied more than 60% of the domestic market, and are exported to more than 30 countries and regions. The 1800-type dimming glass and dimming film produced by its fourth-generation production line are the only ones in the world.

"Zhongzhi Tonghui is a private enterprise. If there is no independent innovation, the enterprise will have to go out of business." Zhao Qin said that private enterprises have no constant capital, "changing the pass, while the same will not work," enterprises must survive if they want to survive. change. The reason that Zhongzhi Tonghui achieves today’s results is not theoretical “rationality” but innovation “new”. As large as the company's strategy, as well as small processes and equipment, it can infiltrate the wisdom of developers and workers.

Recognizing that patents have gained more and more attention in the market rules, since 2008, Zhongzhi Tonghui has established an Intellectual Property Rights Commission, under which it has jurisdiction over the Intellectual Property Department, collects technical data files, and applies patentable patents in a timely manner. From 2008 till now, the company has applied for 35 patents and half of the invention patent applications. This year, the "Research and Development Management Measures," "Science and Technology Achievements and Patent Incentive Measures," and "Technical File Management Regulations" have been revisited to form a complete system of R&D technology management and incentive systems. The company has gone from R&D to technical personnel to workers. Market staff are all brave to innovate. In 2010 alone, Zhong Zhi Tonghui’s awards amounted to RMB 160,000, which is rare for a small business.

“Employees also attach great importance to innovation. Everyday production and engineering will have new things coming out at any time.” Zhao Qin, for example, said that when dimming glass is applied to the installation of doors and windows, it involves lead wires, and it is used to directly introduce door frames. However, in the process of opening and closing doors and windows, wires will be subjected to twisting force, shear force, etc., and long-term failure will inevitably damage the wires. In the on-site installation process, the company’s marketing staff proposed the idea of ​​using a fake hinge to introduce wires through the hinge into the door frame, avoiding stress and extending the service life.

“The breakthroughs made by the company in these years are also inseparable from the support and assistance of the government.” Zhao Qin said that with the help of Fengtai Science Park, the company successfully applied for a national high-tech enterprise, ABT-STG1800 dimming glass. The project won the project of SME Innovation ** project, supporting 1.35 million yuan of funds; dimming glass listed in the "National Key New Product Plan", the project won the "Beijing Torch Plan" project project, won the Zhongguancun Fengtai Science Park "to ensure growth, promote Develop special support funds of RMB 160,000; become the first batch of Zhongguancun “Gazelle Plan” key fostering enterprises, enter the top 50 of high-growth strategic industry emerging in 2010 Zhongguancun; 2009 was listed as “Beijing Torch Plan Project”, in the same year by Beijing Municipality The five scientific and technical committees and other five units have been identified as "Beijing's independent innovation products." In 2010, they were awarded the "Outstanding Innovation Award for Corporate Scientific and Technological Achievements" by the National Strategy Organization for High-tech Industrialization Cooperation. The company was located in a non-industrial area last year. During the drought period, there was a serious shortage of groundwater. The head of the Fengtai Science and Technology Park Enterprise Office helped coordinate and laid water pipes to bring water into the company's factory area, solving its production problems...

Nowadays, Zhongzhi Tonghui's dimming glass has entered 16 Chinese mainland and 7 five-star hotels overseas. The National Grand Theatre, Xinhua News Agency, and COFCO Fortune Gate are among the more than 500 dimming glass supporting projects. Even overseas companies such as the Embassy of Beijing in Beijing and Siemens Ltd. of Germany also favored Zhong Zhi Tonghui's dimming glass. The dimming glass international market, which was originally controlled by foreign companies, has also begun to be broken by Zhongzhi Tonghui. From 2009 to 2010, the value of its overseas orders received was close to 20 million yuan.

"More and more orders have been made and new products are coming out. At present, the company's workshop and R&D area have severely limited the expansion of production capacity and have restricted the industrialization of new products. We are looking for a place to move. There is no suitable choice at the moment." Zhao Qin It is hoped that after the expansion of the scale, the company's products will be marketed in large quantities as soon as possible, and dimming glass and dimming film will be made into industries. One day, dimming glass can also enter the homes of ordinary people and can be applied more widely.