Devices for a horizontal secondary stretching of ultra-thin flexible glass are provided. The device includes: a feeding unit, a welding unit, a preheating unit, a transverse stretching extension unit, a longitudinal traction stretching unit, an annealing unit, and a winding and wrapping unit connected in sequence. Each of the feeding unit, the welding unit, the preheating unit, the transverse stretching extension unit, the longitudinal traction stretching unit, the annealing unit, and the winding and wrapping unit is provided with an air floatation device and a roller. Each of the preheating unit, the transverse stretching extension unit, the longitudinal traction stretching unit, and the annealing unit is provided with a heating unit. Each of the longitudinal traction stretching unit and the annealing unit is provided with a cooling mechanism.

A glass panel unit having an inner space at a reduced pressure and a building component including such a glass panel unit are provided such that no traces of an exhaust pipe are left on their outer surface. To achieve this, a glass panel unit manufacturing method includes a bonding step, a pressure reducing step, and a sealing step. The bonding step includes bonding together a first substrate (10) and a second substrate (20) with a first sealant (410) to create an inner space (510). The pressure reducing step includes producing a reduced pressure in the inner space (510) through an exhaust port (50) that the first substrate (10) has. The sealing step includes melting a second sealant (420) inserted into the exhaust port (50) by locally heating the second sealant (420), and deforming the second sealant (420) by pressing the second sealant (420) toward the second substrate (20), to seal the exhaust port (50) up with the second sealant (420) melted and deformed. A glass panel unit manufacturing method includes a bonding step, a pressure reducing step, and a sealing step. The bonding step includes bonding together a first substrate and a second substrate with a first sealant to create an inner space. The pressure reducing step includes producing a reduced pressure in the inner space through an exhaust port that the first substrate has. The sealing step includes melting a second sealant inserted into the exhaust port by locally heating the second sealant, and deforming the second sealant by pressing the second sealant toward the second substrate, to seal the exhaust port up with the second sealant melted and deformed.

A glass panel unit manufacturing method includes a bonding step, a pressure reducing step, and a sealing step. The bonding step includes bonding together a first substrate including a wired glass pane and a second substrate including a non-wired glass pane with a first sealant in a frame shape to create an inner space. The pressure reducing step includes producing a reduced pressure in the inner space through an exhaust port that the first substrate has. The sealing step includes irradiating the second sealant with an infrared ray externally incident through the second substrate to seal the exhaust port up with the second sealant that has melted.

There is provided a method for heating a thermoplastic plate to be subjected to bending which is horizontally arranged while holding at least part of a peripheral edge portion of the thermoplastic plate, causing a portion inside the peripheral edge portion to sag under a self-weight, and bending the thermoplastic plate to a desired curvature. The method includes applying tension in a planar direction of the thermoplastic plate at the time of holding at least the part of the peripheral edge portion of the thermoplastic plate in a molding frame defining a peripheral edge shape in a shape as a goal for reshaping. Since the thermoplastic plate is pulled in the planar direction during the heating of the thermoplastic plate, moderate tension acts on the thermoplastic plate to prevent breakage. The degree of curvature of the thermoplastic plate can be adjusted by adjusting the mass of each weight.

A glass panel unit manufacturing method includes a bonding step, a pressure reducing step, and a sealing step. The bonding step includes bonding together a first substrate and a second substrate with a first sealant to create an inner space. The pressure reducing step includes producing a reduced pressure in the inner space through an exhaust port that the first substrate has. The sealing step includes melting and expanding a second sealant, inserted into the exhaust port, by heating the second sealant and thereby sealing the exhaust port up with the second sealant expanded to the point of coming into contact with a dam arranged in the inner space.

Known heating burners for producing a welded joint between components of quartz glass include a burner head in which at least one burner nozzle is formed, a burner-head cooling system for the temperature control of the burner head and a supply line connected to the burner nozzle for a fuel gas. Starting from this, to modify a heating burner in such a way that impurities in the weld seam between quartz-glass components to be connected are largely avoided, it is suggested that the burner head should include a base body of silver or of a silver-based alloy.

A method for producing, without a mold, a shaped glass article having a predefined geometry is provided. The method includes providing a starting glass, supporting the starting glass, heating a portion of the starting glass so that in the portion a predetermined spatial viscosity distribution of the starting glass is obtained from 10.sup.9 to 10.sup.4 dPa.Math.s and so that at points where the starting glass is supported a predetermined spatial viscosity distribution of the starting glass does not fall below 10.sup.13 dPa.Math.s, and deforming the heated starting glass by action of an external force until the predefined geometry of the glass article is obtained.

A method of reforming glass includes placing a glass sheet on a mold having a shaping surface for forming the glass sheet into a shaped glass article. A target starting mold forming temperature and temperature window are selected for the mold. A target starting mold forming temperature and temperature window are also selected for the glass sheet. The glass sheet and mold are simultaneously exposed to a first furnace condition controlled to a furnace temperature set point above the target starting mold forming temperature until a temperature of the mold is within the first temperature window. The glass sheet and mold are simultaneously exposed to a second furnace condition controlled to a furnace temperature set point between the target starting mold forming temperature and first furnace temperature set point until a temperature of the glass sheet is within the second temperature window, after which forming of the glass sheet starts.

A pressing device for preparing culture dishes using flat glass and a process thereof, utilizing a flat glass bending molding process of high borosilicate glass or soda-lime glass. The prepared culture dish can not only give full play to the excellent physical and chemical properties of high borosilicate glass flat glass or soda-lime glass, but also the flatness of the inner plane of the glass bottom of the culture dish is higher, the product quality is stable, and it is more energy-saving, efficient and high-quality.

An apparatus (100) for thermally treating a body (101, 102, 103) to be thermally treated, in particular for thermally connecting a first partial body (101) to a second partial body (102) to form a composite body (103) at an interface (104) between the partial bodies. The apparatus also includes a jacket (105), a temperature-controllable space (108) within a temperature-control unit (106) and a heating element (109), with the jacket contactlessly surrounding the body to be thermally treated before, during and after the thermal treatment. Also disclosed are a method for thermally treating a body to be thermally treated, e.g., for high-temperature bonding of a first partial body to a second partial body (102) to form a composite body (103), an optical element (609), e.g., a reflective optical element, e.g., one (609) which is temperature-controlled with a channel (208) through which media flow.