Posted on February-02-2021
Glass welding is most commonly used during the practice of ‘glassblowing’. Glassblowing is a technique that involves inflating and manipulating hot, molten glass into shapes or bubbles using a blowpipe, also referred to as a blow tube.
The process of glassblowing is accomplished by heating glass and turning it into a malleable, thick liquid mass typically by using a torch or a furnace.
After this, a tube may be attached to aid and allow the glass to be blown into various shapes, such as bulbs, bottles or tubes.
Glass, in its solid form, is brittle and often prone to cracking upon heating and cooling, especially if either is uneven. The brittleness of glass does not allow for uneven thermal expansion. This means that when glass is welded, it needs to be cooled very slowly and evenly through a glass transition process called ‘annealing’. This process helps to relieve any internal stresses that have been created due to a temperature gradient.
There are lots of different types of glass, but it is common to weld using the same types. As you might expect, different types of glass have different rates of thermal expansion.
We covered this question in a previous blog post, but, to summarise our answer: glass can be welded to metals and ceramics using an adhesive.
Currently, any equipment or products that have glass and metal and joined together by an adhesive. This ultrafast laser could change the industry in the future, meaning less of a reliance on adhesives. For more in-depth information, please visit our blog post, ‘Revolutionary Technique Developed to Weld Glass to Metal’.
Here at Arc Welding Services Ltd, we supply a wide range of welding equipment, including TIG, MIG, Plasma Machines. Alongside this, we also provide generator hire services in Birmingham and the surrounding areas of the West Midlands.
If you’d like to hear more about what we can do for you here at Arc Welding Services, please don’t hesitate to contact our expert and friendly team. You can call us on 0121 327 2249, alternatively, you can fill out our online contact form and we’ll be in touch with you shortly.
