A glass container is provided that includes a tube, a circular bottom, and a longitudinal axis. A curved glass heel extends from an outer end the bottom to the first end of the tube. The two-dimensional distance h(x,y) between a contact plane and the outer surface. The two-dimensional distance is measured in a direction parallel to the axis. The slope magnitude of the outer surface at the given position x,y is given by

√{square root over ((dh/dx).sup.2+(dh/dy).sup.2)}.

The 75% quantile of values that have been determined for the term

√{square root over ((dh/dx).sup.2+(dh/dy).sup.2)}×d1/h(xy).sub.delta

for all given positions x,y within a circular area having a radius of 0.4×d2/2 and that correspond to the centre is less than 4100 μm/mm. The adjacent positions x,y increase stepwise by 200 μm, and h(x,y).sub.delta=h(x,y).sub.max−h(x,y).sub.min, h(x,y).sub.max is a maximum value for h(x,y) and h(x,y).sub.min is a minimum value for h(x,y) being determined in that circular area.

A glass container is provided that includes a tube, a circular bottom, and a longitudinal axis. A curved glass heel extends from an outer end the bottom to the first end of the tube. The outer surface has a topography defined by a function ĥ(x) that is an azimuthal average of a distance between a contact plane and the outer surface at any given position located on a circle having the centre and the radius |x|. The values ĥ for ĥ(x) are determined for a plurality of circles the radius of which increases stepwise by 500 μm starting with a circle around the centre having a radius of 500 μm. The values ĥ are determined in a range from x=−0.4×d2/2 to x=+0.4×d2/2, d2 having a size such that at least 4 values ĥ are determined and can be fitted with a curvature function

[00001]$\hat{h}\left(x\right)=\frac{-c\times x^2}{1+\sqrt{1-c^2\times x^2}}+h_0.$

A process for preparing a glass container that includes: providing a glass tube with a first portion, a second portion, and a longitudinal axis (L.sub.tube); holding the first portion in a first clamping chuck and the second portion in a second clamping chuck; rotating the glass tube around the longitudinal axis (L.sub.tube); heating, via a heater, the glass tube above a glass transition temperature; separating the first and second portions from one another by pulling apart along the longitudinal axis (L.sub.tube) while the heated glass tube is still rotating by moving the first and the second chucks away from each other; and moving the heater, while moving the first and second chucks away from each other, so that the heater follows a mass that remains at a circular end region of the first and/or second portion.

A system for producing articles from glass tube includes a converter having a base with a plurality of processing stations and a turret moveable relative to the base. The turret indexes a plurality of holders for holding the glass tubes successively through the processing stations. The system further includes a thermal imaging system that includes a thermal imager coupled to the turret for movement with the turret. The thermal imaging system may also include a mirror coupled to the thermal imager and positioned to reflect infrared light from one of the plurality of holders to the thermal imager. The thermal imaging system may measure one or more characteristics of the glass tube during the conversion process. Processes for controlling the converter using the thermal imaging system to measure one or more process variables are also disclosed.

A hot-forming device is provided for producing glass containers from a glass tube. The device includes a rotary table mounted so as to be rotationally movable and an assigned drive motor for driving the rotary table. The rotary table includes several holding chucks for holding workpieces distributed around the circumference of the rotary table. The rotary table has a coolant channel that is fluid-tight and through which a coolant can flow to cool.

A method for molding end portions on glass containers that store pharmaceutical active ingredients is provided. The glass containers are produced from a glass tube by hot-forming, an end portion having a neck opening using a centrally disposed opening forming tool interacting with a shaping tool at one end of the glass containers. In the method, dimensional data is provided for the respective glass tube and the position of the shaping tool is adjusted in a motorized manner in the axial direction (z) of the glass containers so as to correspond to the provided dimensional data for the respective glass tube.

A hot forming device for producing glass containers from a glass tube is provided. The device includes a machine frame, a turntable, a plurality of holding chucks, and a direct drive motor. The turntable is mounted on the machine frame. The holding chucks are arranged on the turntable. The turntable is connected to the machine frame directly by the direct drive without a transmission. The direct drive has a stator arranged in an upper region of the machine frame and a rotor on the turntable.

A system for producing articles from glass tube includes a converter having a base with a plurality of processing stations and a turret moveable relative to the base. The turret indexes a plurality of holders for holding the glass tubes successively through the processing stations. The system further includes a thermal imaging system that includes a thermal imager coupled to the turret for movement with the turret. The thermal imaging system may also include a mirror coupled to the thermal imager and positioned to reflect infrared light from one of the plurality of holders to the thermal imager. The thermal imaging system may measure one or more characteristics of the glass tube during the conversion process. Processes for controlling the converter using the thermal imaging system to measure one or more process variables are also disclosed.

A method for controlling a rotary drive of a hot forming machine having a plurality of processing stations arranged in a circular manner and a rotary table arranged thereabove, in which glass tubes to be processed are held and moved from one processing station to the next by a stepwise rotary movement, is provided. The rotary table is driven by a step gear by which a movement of a drive shaft is translated into a cyclic step movement, a step cycle of which comprises a movement phase and a subsequent standstill phase. A first value for the angular velocity of the drive shaft is assumed at a first time in the movement phase of the step cycle and a second value different from the first value is assumed at a second time in the standstill phase of the same step cycle.

A process for preparing a glass container that includes: providing a glass tube with a first portion, a second portion, and a longitudinal axis (L.sub.tube); holding the first portion in a first clamping chuck and the second portion in a second clamping chuck; rotating the glass tube around the longitudinal axis (L.sub.tube); heating, via a heater, the glass tube above a glass transition temperature; separating the first and second portions from one another by pulling apart along the longitudinal axis (L.sub.tube) while the heated glass tube is still rotating by moving the first and the second chucks away from each other; and moving the heater, while moving the first and second chucks away from each other, so that the heater follows a mass that remains at a circular end region of the first and/or second portion.