Process and system for precision glass sheet bending

An apparatus for precisely bending a glass sheet, comprising:

• an oven for heating the glass sheet to a processing temperature between the annealing temperature and the softening temperature of the glass sheet;
• a stage having a top support surface for supporting a sheet of glass, a first edge, an opposing second edge, and a pair of outward facing first reference surfaces on the first edge of the stage adjacent to ends of the first edge of the stage;
• a pair of first arms having inner ends extending into the oven from a first side of the oven, a first bending mechanism mounted on the inner ends of the first pair of arms inside the oven for bending a first edge portion of a glass sheet on the stage down over the first edge of the stage, and an inward facing first stop surface provided near the inner end of each of the first arms in opposition to the pair of first reference surfaces;
• a pair of second arms having inner ends extending into the oven from a second side of the oven, and an inward facing second stop surface provided near the inner end of each of the second arms in opposition to the second edge of the stage;
• a first moving mechanism for moving the pair of first arms inward toward and outward away from the first edge of the stage;
• and
• whereby when the stage is located in the oven with a glass sheet to be bent supported on the support surface of stage with a first edge portion of the glass sheet to be bent extending beyond the first edge of the stage, the first arms are moved inward toward the stage and the second arms are moved inward toward the stage until the first stop surfaces contact the first reference surfaces and the second stop surfaces contact the second edge of the stage, whereby the stage is held between the first stop surfaces and the second stop surfaces with the first edge of stage and the first edge of the glass sheet is precisely located relative to and aligned with the first bending mechanism.