An apparatus and method for producing an insulating structural element from substrates is provided. The substrates may be connected to one another at a periphery by applied pieces and may be insulated from one another by a vacuum. The apparatus may include a washing device, a cleaning device, a heating device for pre-heating the substrates, a positioning device for positioning the applied pieces on the substrates, an ultrasonic soldering device for soldering the applied pieces to the substrates, an automatic spacer and getter element setting unit, a plasma sputtering device in a vacuum, a substrate displacing device for transporting the substrates, a mechanical substrate placing device for joining the substrates, and a connecting device for welding or soldering the applied pieces of the substrates to each other.