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.

The invention relates to a device for reshaping a rotating glass intermediate, in particular a glass tube, comprising at least one shaping roller, which is translationally displaceable into a shape-rolling contact with the glass intermediate for shaping, and comprising at least one linear motor for the translational positioning of the at least one shaping roller in such a way that the shaping roller directly follows a translational positioning movement of the translator of the linear motor.

The invention relates to a device for reshaping a rotating glass intermediate, in particular a glass tube, comprising at least one shaping roller, which is translationally displaceable into a shape-rolling contact with the glass intermediate for shaping, and comprising at least one linear motor for the translational positioning of the at least one shaping roller in such a way that the shaping roller directly follows a translational positioning movement of the translator of the linear motor.

The invention relates to a method for producing glassware, in particular rotationally symmetrical glassware, such as a glass syringe, a glass carpule, a glass vial or a glass ampule, wherein the method comprises the steps of rotating a glass intermediate, in particular a glass tube, with a receptacle rotational speed about a receptacle rotational axis, rotating at least one forming roller with a roller rotational speed about a roller rotational axis, and displacing the at least one forming roller and the glass intermediate for shaping in a forming roller contact, from which the receptacle rotational axis is spaced in a radial direction about an intermediate radius and from which the roller rotational axis is spaced in a radial direction about a roller radius, wherein the ratio of the roller rotational speed to the receptacle rotational speed during the method is controlled as a function of the ratio of intermediate radius to roller radius.

The invention relates to a method for producing glassware, in particular rotationally symmetrical glassware, such as a glass syringe, a glass carpule, a glass vial or a glass ampule, wherein the method comprises the steps of rotating a glass intermediate, in particular a glass tube, with a receptacle rotational speed about a receptacle rotational axis, rotating at least one forming roller with a roller rotational speed about a roller rotational axis, and displacing the at least one forming roller and the glass intermediate for shaping in a forming roller contact, from which the receptacle rotational axis is spaced in a radial direction about an intermediate radius and from which the roller rotational axis is spaced in a radial direction about a roller radius, wherein the ratio of the roller rotational speed to the receptacle rotational speed during the method is controlled as a function of the ratio of intermediate radius to roller radius.

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 glass tube element having a hollow cylindrical section with a shell having an outer diameter is provided. A first ratio is a difference value to a mean value. The difference value is a difference of a minimal and maximal value of the outer diameter. The mean value is a mean of the minimal and maximal values. A sub-section having a start, an end, and a distance of 1 meter measured along a straight line from the start to the end and intersecting with a center axis of the sub-section at the start and the end. The sub-section having, for every point of the center axis, a shortest distance to the straight line. A second ratio of a specific distance to 1 meter, the specific distance being defined as a largest of all shortest distances. A product of the first and second ratio is smaller than 4×10.sup.−6.

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.