From it the modern person faces glass and products almost every day. This material was so strongly included into everyday life that seldom who thinks of that as well as from what it is produced. And the manufacturing techniques of glass are very interesting and full of various cunnings.
What glass consists of
The basis of glass is formed by one of the most widespread materials – quartz sand. It seems surprising and incomprehensible how from this loose weight which is not differing in transparency colourless monolithic glass through which the person daily looks at the world surrounding it as a result turns out.
Secret consists in temperature influence. Sand is subjected to special processing, heating up to critical temperatures. At the same time separate parts of loose substance bake and alloyed among themselves. Then fast cooling of the turned-out weight during which grains of sand just do not manage to return to an initial state follows.
Sand – the main, but not the only component used at glass production. Except it add limestone, water and soda to structure of weight. And how to make glass colored? And there are technological and chemical subtleties. To give to glass the necessary shade, add oxides of various metals to the melted weight.
Mix of oxides of copper and chrome, for example, will give green color. Oxide of cobalt is capable to give to glass a blue shade.
The manufacturing techniques flew down
Process of production of glass begins with thorough dispensing of components. For this purpose use very exact electronic scales. The measured substances place in the massive furnace where at high temperature mix turns into homogeneous mass. At the same time from future glass harmful gas bubbles are removed. Especially sheet glass was widely used. The main subtlety at its production is in giving to a transparent leaf ideal smoothness. Several decades ago for this purpose used the long conveyors supplied with very thin rollers.
Earlier glass moved on a roller surface and at the same time cooled down. But as a result the leaf turned out not quite equal and demanded careful polishing.
Technologists were come to the rescue by inventors. They found the witty way allowing to cope with the technical contradiction inherent in the task described above. The made glass leaf was decided to be dipped into the bathtub filled with the melted tin having a certain temperature. Density of glass is lower, than at this metal. Therefore the leaf floated on the surface of tin, being cooled and becoming almost ideally smooth. Need for additional polishing of a finished product disappeared ("To find the idea", G.S. Altshuller, 1986). At the last stage of technological process there is an automatic quality control of glass. The exact equipment reveals possible defects in material, and the scanner marks problem places. After that big cloths of glass are cut on standard sheets, and defective sites at the same time are removed. Production wastes, however, immediately are used – add them to the next portion of glass weight.