A mold stack for forming 3D glass-based articles includes a plenum and a cooling structure integrated with the plenum. The mold stack includes a mold with a flange that can be used to mount the mold on the plenum. The mold stack includes features to reduce mold warp without significantly increasing thermal mass.

Disclosed are a coating for glass molding, a preparation method and application thereof and a mold having the coating. The coating includes a nitride layer and nano precious metal particles which are dispersed in the nitride layer. A surface roughness of the coating is 2-12 nm. The preparation method of the coating includes: cleaning a substrate and targets under an inert gas; and under a mixed atmosphere of nitrogen and the inert gas, depositing, with a high-purity W target, a high-purity Cr target and a precious metal inserted Cr target, a Cr intermediate layer, a nitride layer and nano precious metal particles on a surface of the substrate. The coating has good oxidation resistance and excellent anti-adhesion property. Moreover, the coating effectively inhibits the adhesion between the glass body and the mold.

Methods and mold designs provide for fiducials in molding glass optical elements, such as glass lenses. A mold for use in the fabrication of a lens can include a first part of the mold including a first molding surface corresponding to a first surface of said lens, and a second part of the mold including a second molding surface corresponding to a second surface of said lens, the first and second part of the mold configured to apply pressure to a moldable material in at least one cavity therebetween, at least one marking structure located on at least one of the first part of the mold, the second part of the mold, or both, the at least one marking structure configured to form at least one fiducial in the molded structure. Such techniques are applicable to precision glass molding.

A glass manufacturing apparatus configured to manufacture glass through a process of lowering the temperature of a non-contact supported glass material. The glass manufacturing apparatus comprises a heating unit configured to heat the glass material; and a forming unit configured to form the molten glass material while its temperature decreases after the heating by the heating unit has stopped.

A method for treating a mold includes grinding an outer metal surface of a mold body of the mold with a first material; lapping the outer metal surface after the grinding with a second material that is finer than the first material; and polishing the outer metal surface after the lapping to achieve an average surface roughness (R.sub.a) less than or equal to about 0.15 m and a waviness height (W.sub.a) less than or equal to about 100 nm. A mold for shaping glass-based material can include a mold body having an outer metal surface, wherein the outer metal surface has an average surface roughness (R.sub.a) less than or equal to about 0.15 m and a waviness height (W.sub.a) less than or equal to about 100 nm.

Systems and methods for texturing substrates (e.g., glass, metal, and the like) and the textured substrates produced using such systems and methods are disclosed. An exemplary textured substrate includes a surface having a portion with a root-mean-square roughness between 40 to 1000 microns and an autocorrelation function greater than 0.5 for distances less than 50 microns. An exemplary system for texturing a substrate includes a plunger with a textured surface, where a portion of the textured surface has a root-mean-square roughness between 40 to 1000 microns and an autocorrelation function greater than 0.5 for distances less than 50 microns. An exemplary method for texturing a substrate includes the steps of generating a pattern defining a texture, and 3-D printing the pattern on the substrate to form the texture.

A method for treating a mold includes grinding an outer metal surface of a mold body of the mold with a first material; lapping the outer metal surface after the grinding with a second material that is finer than the first material; and polishing the outer metal surface after the lapping to achieve an average surface roughness (R.sub.a) less than or equal to about 0.15 m and a waviness height (W.sub.a) less than or equal to about 100 nm. A mold for shaping glass-based material can include a mold body having an outer metal surface, wherein the outer metal surface has an average surface roughness (R.sub.a) less than or equal to about 0.15 m and a waviness height (W.sub.a) less than or equal to about 100 nm.

An apparatus for shaping a workpiece made of glass using minimum lubrication is provided. The apparatus includes device for heating the workpiece, a shaping station with at least one forming tool for shaping the workpiece, and at least one spray nozzle for applying an oil as a lubricant onto the surface of the forming tool. The forming tool exhibits heat dissipation such that the temperature on the contact surface of the forming tool during the shaping process is kept below 300 C. The amount of oil dispensed by the spray nozzle per forming step and application instance is less than 0.1 g.

A shape forming system according to one embodiment includes a mold assemblies; a heating unit; a pressing unit; a cooling unit; an isolation chamber configured to accommodate therein the heating unit, the pressing unit, and the cooling unit arranged in parallel with each other; and a conveyance unit configured to move the plurality of mold assemblies each of which is arranged on a plate provided in each of the heating unit, the pressing unit, and the cooling unit to thereby convey the mold assemblies in sequence.

An array of glass members is arranged in a glass substrate includes a plurality of depressions formed in a first main surface of the glass substrate, and a plurality of openings formed in a second main surface of the glass substrate.