Methods for providing feedback control of converters for converting glass tubes to glass articles include a model predictive control framework. The methods include operating the converter, providing target values for attributes of the glass articles or glass tubes, measuring the attributes for the glass articles and glass tubes, conditioning the measurement data to remove outlier data points and calculating statistics representative of the measured attributes, and determine updated settings for one or more process parameters from the previous settings, the statistical properties, and the target values, where the updated settings are those that minimize an objective control function for the converter. The methods further include adjusting the process parameters to the updated settings. The model predictive control framework enables feedback control of the converter that compensates for disturbances that act on the process.

Methods for providing feedback control of converters for converting glass tubes to glass articles include a model predictive control framework. The methods include operating the converter, providing target values for attributes of the glass articles or glass tubes, measuring the attributes for the glass articles and glass tubes, conditioning the measurement data to remove outlier data points and calculating statistics representative of the measured attributes, and determine updated settings for one or more process parameters from the previous settings, the statistical properties, and the target values, where the updated settings are those that minimize an objective control function for the converter. The methods further include adjusting the process parameters to the updated settings. The model predictive control framework enables feedback control of the converter that compensates for disturbances that act on the process.

Methods for producing glass articles from glass tube includes securing a glass tube in a holder of a converter; rotating the glass tube; and passing the glass tube through processing stations, which include at least a heating station and a forming station, to form one or more features at a working end of the glass tube. An active time is an amount of time the glass tube is engaged with a heating element or a forming tool while in a processing station, and an exposure index for the processing station is the rotational speed of the glass tube multiplied by a number of heating elements or forming tools in the processing station multiplied by the active time. An absolute difference between the exposure index and a nearest integer is less than or equal to 0.30, which reduces temperature and dimensional inhomogeneity around a circumference of the glass tube.

Methods for producing glass articles from glass tube includes securing a glass tube in a holder of a converter; rotating the glass tube; and passing the glass tube through processing stations, which include at least a heating station and a forming station, to form one or more features at a working end of the glass tube. An active time is an amount of time the glass tube is engaged with a heating element or a forming tool while in a processing station, and an exposure index for the processing station is the rotational speed of the glass tube multiplied by a number of heating elements or forming tools in the processing station multiplied by the active time. An absolute difference between the exposure index and a nearest integer is less than or equal to 0.30, which reduces temperature and dimensional inhomogeneity around a circumference of the glass tube.

A method for forming a hollow cylinder, in a single step or in as small a number of steps as possible, into a quartz glass tube with a large outer diameter and high dimensional stability is provided. The cylinder, while rotating about a rotation axis, is softened in portions in a heating zone which is moved at a relative feed rate Va, and the softened portion is radially expanded by a centrifugal force and/or an internal overpressure applied in the hollow cylinder bore so as to form a deformation zone. The tube is continuously shaped with an outer diameter D2 which is greater than that of the hollow cylinder D1. The radial expansion of the softened portion is carried out at a location-dependent radial expansion rate Vr, the profile of which along the deformation zone has a maximum value Vr,max which is smaller than two times the feed rate Va.

A method for forming a hollow cylinder, in a single step or in as small a number of steps as possible, into a quartz glass tube with a large outer diameter and high dimensional stability is provided. The cylinder, while rotating about a rotation axis, is softened in portions in a heating zone which is moved at a relative feed rate Va, and the softened portion is radially expanded by a centrifugal force and/or an internal overpressure applied in the hollow cylinder bore so as to form a deformation zone. The tube is continuously shaped with an outer diameter D2 which is greater than that of the hollow cylinder D1. The radial expansion of the softened portion is carried out at a location-dependent radial expansion rate Vr, the profile of which along the deformation zone has a maximum value Vr,max which is smaller than two times the feed rate Va.

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.