A holding jig for a glass former and a method for shaping an end of a breathing tube are described. The holding jig includes a glass former having an interior shaping cavity for receiving the end of the breathing tube. The holding jig also includes a floating balance plate that abuts the glass former. A base plate has a seat recess for receiving the balance plate, and a tube hole for receiving the breathing tube. A grip plate is releasably secured to the base plate, and includes a grip hole sized to receive a portion of the glass former. An adjustment plug is used to selectively position the balance plate within the seat recess to align a longitudinal axis of the glass former with a longitudinal axis of the tube hole of the base plate.

A holding jig for a glass former and a method for shaping an end of a breathing tube are described. The holding jig includes a glass former having an interior shaping cavity for receiving the end of the breathing tube. The holding jig also includes a floating balance plate that abuts the glass former. A base plate has a seat recess for receiving the balance plate, and a tube hole for receiving the breathing tube. A grip plate is releasably secured to the base plate, and includes a grip hole sized to receive a portion of the glass former. An adjustment plug is used to selectively position the balance plate within the seat recess to align a longitudinal axis of the glass former with a longitudinal axis of the tube hole of the base plate.

The present disclosure provides an apparatus and method for modifying the shape of a hollow structure. The method may comprise steps of providing a hollow structure having a cross-section with first and second diameters defining a first aspect ratio; heating at least a part of the hollow structure to at least its glass transition temperature, forming a malleable hollow structure; maintaining a positive pressure inside the malleable hollow structure to form a pressurized hollow structure; and pressing against a first side and an opposed second side of a heated part of the pressurized hollow structure, forming a hollow tabular structure having first and second opposed generally flat faces and a second aspect ratio greater than the first aspect ratio.

Provided is a method of manufacturing a glass product including the following steps. An intermediate glass product is provided. A portion of the intermediate glass product is heated to a predetermined temperature. A tool and the heated portion of the intermediate glass product are brought into contact. Under a state that a tool contacts the heated portion, at least one of the tool and the intermediate glass product is rotated so that the tool and the intermediate glass product relatively rotate, wherein a part of the tool that contacts the heated portion comprises or is made of glassy carbon.

Methods for controlling a converter for converting glass tubes to glass articles include preparing condition sets including settings for a plurality of process parameters, operating the converter to produce glass articles, measuring attributes of the glass articles, operating the converter at each of the condition sets, associating each glass article with a condition set used to produce the glass article and the attributes measured, developing operational models from the attributes measured and the condition sets, determining run settings for each of the plurality of process parameters based on the operational models, and operating the converter with each of the process parameters set to the run settings determined from the operational models.

Methods for controlling a converter for converting glass tubes to glass articles include preparing condition sets including settings for a plurality of process parameters, operating the converter to produce glass articles, measuring attributes of the glass articles, operating the converter at each of the condition sets, associating each glass article with a condition set used to produce the glass article and the attributes measured, developing operational models from the attributes measured and the condition sets, determining run settings for each of the plurality of process parameters based on the operational models, and operating the converter with each of the process parameters set to the run settings determined from the operational models.

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 ?(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 ? for ?(x) are determined for a plurality of circles the radius of which increases stepwise by 500 ?m starting with a circle around the centre having a radius of 500 ?m. The values ? 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 ? are determined and can be fitted with a curvature function $\hat{h}\left(x\right)=\frac{-c?x^2}{1+\sqrt{1-c^2?x^2}}+h_0.$

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 ?(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 ? for ?(x) are determined for a plurality of circles the radius of which increases stepwise by 500 ?m starting with a circle around the centre having a radius of 500 ?m. The values ? 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 ? are determined and can be fitted with a curvature function $\hat{h}\left(x\right)=\frac{-c?x^2}{1+\sqrt{1-c^2?x^2}}+h_0.$

A method of manufacturing a tip for use with smokable substances. A tube is rotated while applying heat in a horizontal and vertical direction to an end of the tube. The heated end is squeezed with rollers and while a rotating t-shaped plug is inserted into the heated end of the tube. The rollers and t-shaped plug are removed and a scoring wheel is applied to the tube to create a scratch. Then heat is applied to the scratch. An end of the tube is clamped with a rotating chuck and water is sprayed at the scratch to create a thermal shock which separates the tube into two pieces. Heat is applied to a section of one end of the pieces. Tapered rollers are applied to the heated section to taper a diameter of the piece along the heated section.

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.