Continuous production

Continuous production is a method used to manufacture, produce, or process any product without interruption. There is no discrete rate at which goods are produced, as opposed to a batch production process, or job production.

This process is followed in most of the float glass industry, where glass of different thickness is processed in a continuous manner. Once the molten glass flows out of the furnace, machines work on the glass from either side and either compress or expand it. Controlling the speed of rotation of those machines and varying them in numbers produces a glass ribbon of varying width and thickness.


Continuous production presents possibilities for enhancing automation. By employing Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and other automated controls, we can reduce chances of error (thereby delays and downtime) due to human intervention. This is because most of the jobs are routine enough and can be easily automated. So there is a lot of scope for conveyors, elevators, feeders, etc. for transporting raw materials, in process materials etc. in continuous process industries.

The most important difference between batch production and continuous production is that any changes in the product's properties such as color, dimensions, or quality needs to be done online. And whenever it is effected, the results can be seen only after a fixed period which can extend from a few hours to days. Machinery maintenance in case of continuous process plants calls for online maintenance which requires very high alertness and quick response times from dedicated technicians.