GlassBuild Innovation Lounge Offers Look at Future of Fabrication

GlassBuild America 2026 is a sign of the times. The annual event runs Sept. 23-25 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. This year, the organizers are framing the 2026 show around an uncertain construction economy and technologies that can reduce labor, improve productivity and increase building performance.

Those technologies were on display throughout the trade show floor, particularly at the Innovation Lounge. The lounge showcases what event organizers describe as “forward-looking products in the areas of technology, sustainability, robotics, artificial intelligence and architectural glass.”

Innovation Lounge: Stepping into the Virtual Realm 

Consumer virtual reality headsets are a growing tool in the construction industry, used for logistics, site planning and safety training. Adam Moore, a mechanical engineer at Lorik Automation, found a neat use for the technology: a virtual reality program where fabricators can see and manipulate machinery without ordering the machine. Lorik is an industry partner that collaborates with HHH Equipment Resources and its parent company, Salem Fabrication Technologies Group.

Moore explains that HHH and Salem can use the virtual reality program to show customers how automated machinery and robotic systems will look and operate before the equipment is built or installed.

“To collaborate with our customers, we want to show them exactly what they’re going to get,” says Moore. “We can put their entire design in here, and if they want to change things, we can make those changes and reload it. They can be happy with it before we ever start making the first part or ordering the first machine. We can even do this during the quote phase because it gives customers confidence in what they’re getting. They can also show it to people within their own company.”

Moore adds that he eventually wants to put QR codes on equipment so that customers can scan a code with the virtual reality headset, and it could show them the equipment, the parts and what they need to do if something goes wrong. He notes that repair and troubleshooting instructions can be placed directly into the headset, with audio cues or videos that pop up alongside the machine.

“It also opens up opportunities for training,” says Moore. “We can put a machine in front of an operator virtually and record what they’re looking at. They can go through work instructions and training before the actual machine is even in the building, so operators already know what’s coming. This is still in the testing phase, but it has had a good reception from our customers. It really unlocks a lot of potential, and it can save money for our customers and us.”

GlassBuild Notes

Safety: A key theme of GlassBuild 2026 is technological advancements throughout the glass industry, from the fabrication floor to the jobsite. New programs and machinery are helping fabricators and glaziers work with heavy, larger glass lites without the physical repercussions. Smartlift is one of many companies at the event showcasing equipment that helps glaziers lift and manipulate larger lites without injury.

“As the industry trends toward bigger and heavier glass, we’re able to work with a broader range of glaziers and customers to help them safely move their products from the rack to within a few millimeters of where they need to set them,” says Mark Simpson of Smartlift U.S. Inc. “With our machines, we’re able to take a lot of the heavy lifting out of the equation. Now, glaziers can do what they do best, setting the glass, without having to lift it.”

Mitigating distortion: LiteSentry – Softsolution – Strainoptics is exhibiting its various machines and systems that measure waves, anisotropy and find scratches and other blemishes. One of its notable products is the LiteSentry Osprey system, which measures the waviness of glass.

“When you temper glass, you generate a heat profile, and you typically get these waves in it,” says Eric Hegstrom, vice president of technology. “You’ll sometimes see that distortion when you’re standing across the street from a commercial building. This system measures all the glass coming out of the furnace for that distortion. It also measures anisotropy. If you’re wearing sunglasses and driving behind a car, you’ll sometimes see dots or patterns in the rear windshield. That’s caused by the nozzles on the furnace when the glass was tempered. That’s another part of the process this system measures.”