A manufacturing method for a glass film includes at least a cutting step of cutting a strip-shaped glass film while conveying the glass film in a predetermined direction by a conveying device. In the cutting step, the glass film is cut in predetermined cutting zones by irradiating the glass film with laser beams. A support conveyance surface of the conveying device for the glass film is separated at the cutting zones for the glass film. Further, a first surface plate capable of supporting the glass film in a contact manner is disposed at a position that is located in a width direction of the glass film with respect to the cutting zones and corresponds to a center of a glass film obtained by the cutting in the width direction.

A curved glass manufacturing method includes: successively stacking a lower mold, flat glass, and an upper mold, thereby forming a mold assembly; moving the mold assembly to a first chamber and then heating the same; moving the mold assembly from the first chamber to a second chamber and then pressurizing the upper mold so as to move the upper mold downward, thereby molding the flat glass in a curved shape; moving the mold assembly from the second chamber to a third chamber and then slowly cooling the molded glass; and moving the mold assembly from the third chamber to a fourth chamber and then cooling the molded glass. An elastic member is arranged between the lower mold and the upper mold and configured to define a space between the upper mold and the flat glass, and the elastic member is compressed when the upper mold is pressurized.

A method for bending a glass pane in a furnace, wherein the furnace has an inlet and an outlet, includes providing a glass pane on a mounting, wherein the mounting is preheated, introducing the mounted glass pane into the inlet of the furnace for bending, discharging the bent, mounted glass pane out of the outlet of the furnace, withdrawing the bent, mounted glass pane from the mounting, installing thermal insulation on the mounting, returning the mounting and the thermal insulation using a transport device, removing the thermal insulation prior to renewed mounting, wherein the aforementioned steps are carried out again in a cyclical manner.

A glass processing may include a heating station to heat glass sheets, and a bending station disposed downstream of the heating station to bend the heated glass sheets. The bending station may include first and second independent movement mechanisms configured to independently move first and second molds when the glass processing system is operated in a first mode, and to cooperate to move a third mold when the glass processing system is operated in a second mode. The system further includes a control system to control the movement mechanisms so that they operate independently when the glass processing system is operated in the first mode, and so that they operate simultaneously when the glass processing system is operated in the second mode.

Methods and systems are provided for automated shaping of a glass sheet. The methods comprise preheating the glass, bending the glass through selective, and focused beam heating through the use of an ultra-high frequency, high-power electromagnetic wave, and computer implemented processes utilizing thermal and shape (positional) data obtained in real-time, and cooling the glass sheet to produce a glass sheet suitable for use in air and space vehicles.

Methods and systems are provided for automated shaping of a glass sheet. The methods comprise preheating the glass, bending the glass through selective, and focused beam heating through the use of an ultra-high frequency, high-power electromagnetic wave, and computer implemented processes utilizing thermal and shape (positional) data obtained in real-time, and cooling the glass sheet to produce a glass sheet suitable for use in air and space vehicles.

A quench arrangement for quenching glass sheets includes a main quench station having upper and lower main quench heads for performing a primary quench operation on a glass sheet, a first lower secondary quench head located downstream of the main quench station, and a second lower secondary quench head located downstream of the first lower secondary quench head. The arrangement further includes an upper secondary quench system positioned above the first and second lower secondary quench heads, and the upper secondary quench system is cooperable with the lower secondary quench heads to perform further cooling of the glass sheet. The arrangement further includes a conveyor located above the second lower secondary quench head for moving the glass sheet away from the second lower secondary quench head.

A device and a method for bending and cooling sheets of glass including bending the glass by gravity on a gravity support during which the glass rests on the gravity support in the peripheral zone constituted of the 50 mm from the edge of its first principal face, then separating the glass from the gravity support when the glass is at more than 560° C., then cooling the glass during which its first principal face is free of any contact in its peripheral zone, between a temperature termed the upper homogeneous temperature, of at least 560° C., and a temperature termed the lower homogeneous temperature, of at most 500° C., termed the critical temperature range, the zone of the first principal face at a distance greater than 200 mm from the edge being at a temperature at least equal to that of the peripheral zone at the moment when the peripheral zone reaches the upper homogeneous temperature.

A method for bending panes, includes providing a pane heated to bending temperature, securing the pane against a contact surface of a first bending mould, pressing the pane between the first bending mould and a press frame, transporting the pane on the press frame to a second bending mould, pressing the pane between the second bending mould and the press frame, securing the pane against the contact surface of the second bending mould, wherein surface pre-bending occurs in the inner region of the pane, transporting the pane on a tempering frame to a cooling device for the thermal tempering of the pane, wherein during transport, surface final bending occurs in the inner region of the pane by gravity.

A curved glass manufacturing method includes: successively stacking a lower mold, flat glass, and an upper mold, thereby forming a mold assembly; moving the mold assembly to a first chamber and then heating the same; moving the mold assembly from the first chamber to a second chamber and then pressurizing the upper mold so as to move the upper mold downward, thereby molding the flat glass in a curved shape; moving the mold assembly from the second chamber to a third chamber and then slowly cooling the molded glass; and moving the mold assembly from the third chamber to a fourth chamber and then cooling the molded glass. An elastic member is arranged between the lower mold and the upper mold and configured to define a space between the upper mold and the flat glass, and the elastic member is compressed when the upper mold is pressurized.