Systems for producing articles from glass tube include 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 systems further include a gas flow system or a suction system for producing a flow of gas through the glass tube during one or more heating, forming, separating or piercing operations. The flow of gas through the glass tube produced by the gas flow system or suction system may be sufficient to evacuate or purge volatile constituents of the glass from the glass tube and/or pierce a meniscus formed on the glass tube during separation, thereby reducing the Surface Hydrolytic Response (SHR) of the interior surface of the glass tube and articles made therefrom.

Systems for producing articles from glass tube include 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 systems further include a gas flow system or a suction system for producing a flow of gas through the glass tube during one or more heating, forming, separating or piercing operations. The flow of gas through the glass tube produced by the gas flow system or suction system may be sufficient to evacuate or purge volatile constituents of the glass from the glass tube and/or pierce a meniscus formed on the glass tube during separation, thereby reducing the Surface Hydrolytic Response (SHR) of the interior surface of the glass tube and articles made therefrom.

An apparatus and related process for producing a high-strength weld between two glass components. Chucks clamp and move respective first ends of the glass components toward each other inside an enclosure, where the second ends are heated, softened, and welded together in a weld zone. The enclosure has layers of stacked quartz glass bricks and allows the weld zone to cool slowly and avoid stress. A propane quartz melting torch directs a flame inside the enclosure and toward the second ends as the glass components move toward each other. The flame softens the second ends and creates substantially smooth polished surfaces in the weld zone having an increased hydroxide content. At least 80% of the weld zone has a hydroxide content greater than about 10 ppm average in a 10 μm depth from the surface and the tensile strength of the weld zone is above about 10 MPa.

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 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.

Systems for producing articles from glass tube include 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 systems further include a gas flow system or a suction system for producing a flow of gas through the glass tube during one or more heating, forming, separating or piercing operations. The flow of gas through the glass tube produced by the gas flow system or suction system may be sufficient to evacuate or purge volatile constituents of the glass from the glass tube and/or pierce a meniscus formed on the glass tube during separation, thereby reducing the Surface Hydrolytic Response (SHR) of the interior surface of the glass tube and articles made therefrom.

Systems for producing articles from glass tube include 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 systems further include a gas flow system or a suction system for producing a flow of gas through the glass tube during one or more heating, forming, separating or piercing operations. The flow of gas through the glass tube produced by the gas flow system or suction system may be sufficient to evacuate or purge volatile constituents of the glass from the glass tube and/or pierce a meniscus formed on the glass tube during separation, thereby reducing the Surface Hydrolytic Response (SHR) of the interior surface of the glass tube and articles made therefrom.

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 radiation pumped heater includes a ceramic substrate which is heated by a laser beam to a steady state temperature. An optical fiber is heated by conduction and radiation emitted from the ceramic substrate.

Systems for producing articles from glass tube include 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 systems further include a gas flow system or a suction system for producing a flow of gas through the glass tube during one or more heating, forming, separating or piercing operations. The flow of gas through the glass tube produced by the gas flow system or suction system may be sufficient to evacuate or purge volatile constituents of the glass from the glass tube and/or pierce a meniscus formed on the glass tube during separation, thereby reducing the Surface Hydrolytic Response (SHR) of the interior surface of the glass tube and articles made therefrom.