A hot-forming tool for producing glass containers is provided. The tool includes a forming roller, a holder, and a heat sink. The forming roller has a forming surface. The holder receives the forming roller with the forming roller rotatably mounted on the holder. The heat sink is directly or indirectly connected to the holder. The forming roller is in thermal contact with the heat sink and the heat sink has an internal cooler so that process heat can be transferred from the forming roller to the heat sink.

A quartz glass container is shown and described herein. The quartz glass container exhibits a low concentration of surface defects on an inner surface of the container. In aspects hereof, the container may have a surface defect density of 50 or fewer surface defects per square centimeter within a 1 cm band centered 1 cm from the base of the container.

A forming tool for use during a process of converting a glass tube into a glass container, includes a base portion comprising a fluid cavity for containing a fluid and an insertion portion extending from the base portion. The insertion portion includes an external surface sized to fit into an opening of the glass tube. In embodiments, the insertion portion comprises a fluid opening extending from an interior surface thereof to the external surface, the fluid opening configured to deliver the fluid from the fluid cavity between the insertion portion and the glass tube. In embodiments, the forming tool comprises a thermally conductive insert extending through the base portion and the insertion portion, the thermally conductive insert extending through the fluid cavity such that the fluid in the fluid cavity regulates a temperature of the thermally conductive insert.

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 having a glass tube with a first end and a second end and a glass bottom closing the second end. The glass tube has a longitudinal axis and has, in a direction from the first to the second end, a top region, a junction region, a neck region, a shoulder region, and a body region. The top region is at the first end and has an outer diameter (d.sub.t), the neck region has an outer diameter (d.sub.n) with d.sub.n<d.sub.t, the body region extends to the second end and has an outer diameter (d.sub.b) with d.sub.b>d.sub.t, and the glass tube in the body region has a thickness (l.sub.b). The outer contour in a transition area between the top and neck regions is defined by a radius of curvature. The glass containers have a neck squeeze test load of at least 1100 N.

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 method of manufacturing a tip for use with smokeable substances. A tube is rotated while applying heat to a section. The heated section is squeezed with tapered rollers and a pivoting rod is inserted. The rollers and rod are removed and heat is again applied. The heated portion is squeezed a second time with the tapered rollers and the rod is reinserted. The rollers and rod are removed and heat is again applied. The heated portion is again squeezed with the tapered rollers and the pivoting rod is again reinserted. The rollers and rod are removed and heat is applied to the end of the tube. The tube is scored above the end to form a scored line. Heat is applied to the scored line. Water is sprayed onto the scored line to split the tube into two pieces. Heat is applied to the tube at the split end.

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.

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.

Methods for producing glass articles from laminated glass tubing include introducing the glass tubing to a converter. The glass tubing includes a core layer under tensile stress, an outer clad layer under, and an inner clad layer. The methods include forming a feature the glass article at a working end of the laminated glass tubing and separating a glass article from the working end of the laminated glass tubing, which may expose the core layer under tensile stress at the working end of the glass tubing. The method further comprises remediating the exposed portion of the core layer by completely enclosing the core layer in a clad layer. Systems for re-cladding the exposed portion of the core layer as well as glass articles made using the systems and methods are also disclosed.