Glass Tubes
The term “glass tubing” refers to those hollow cylinders that are made of glass of any kind. Typically, the glass used to make glass tubing is of a silicate origin and may or may not contain additives.
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Applications of Glass Tubes
Glass tubes are also known as glass cylinders or glass rods.
They have applications in countless fields, including:
- Consumer Goods and Retail
- Electrochemistry, Electronics
- Industrial Manufacturing
- Laboratory Work and Scientific Research
- Pharmaceutical Packaging
- Lighting
- Interior Design
- Product Presentation
- Pneumatic Conveyor Systems
Glass tubes are also used in laboratory vials, medical vials, sterilized medical and/or lab tubes, fluorescent light bulbs, halogen light bulbs, sight glass, in-flow measuring cylinders, auto chemical and liquid transporters, backlights, and photobioreactors.
Sometimes, manufacturers may choose to curve or bend glass tubing while it is still heated, as it is more malleable when it is heated. However, this action is risky, as it can easily distort the cross section of the tubing. Nevertheless, manufacturers still pursue this from time to time, as curved glass tubing has many applications. A few of these applications include material storage and gas transportation.
Materials Used in Glass Tubes
Common glass types used include soda lime, quartz glass, flint, lead glass, borosilicate, and aluminosilicate. Sometimes, glass tubing may be made from safety glass, like laminated glass or tempered glass.
Manufacturing Process of Glass Tubes
Glass manufacturers can use a number of different processes to create glass tubing, including glass blowing and glass drawing. They can also fabricate glass tubing in many different standard and custom lengths and thicknesses.
In short, glassblowing involves inflating molten glass into a bubble known as a parison, into either a mold or free form into the air, and using a stream of air to keep the molten glass in this form until it has dried and hardened into the shape of a tube. Drawing is a similar procedure that involves first melting the glass and then drawing a stream of it in its molten form over a mold-like cone or cylinder. The glass must remain there until it hardens. Once it has cooled, it can be removed and treated further.
Glass drawing techniques can be divided into a few different categories: drawing direction horizontal, drawing direction downwards (down-draw), and drawing direction vertically upwards (vertical drawing). Note that drawing direction horizontal can be further divided into the subcategories of the Danner process and the Vello process. In addition to these processes, when glass tubing with exceptionally large diameters is required, glass tubing manufacturers may use the process of centrifugation.
Glass is a brittle material when it is left untreated. For this reason, if glass manufacturers want their products to be effective, after they have fabricated them, they must put the products through a process called annealing. Annealing is a process in which glass is reheated and then rapidly cooled. It serves glass tubing by making it stronger and more resistant to thermal shock and removing from it any spots of potential weakness or stress.
Points to Consider When Purchasing Glass Tubes
Those in the market for glass tubing should consider a few different things regarding their application or applications. First, they must consider the optical properties of a glass tube. In addition, they must take into account a tube’s loss tangent for energy, electrical properties (like electrical resistance), thermal capabilities (like thermal conductivity), and physical characteristics, such as wall thickness/density and material strength. To have all their questions answered and/or to receive a quote from a skilled and reputable glass tubing manufacturer, potential customers should reach out to one or more of the excellent suppliers listed on this page.