Glass is one of the most common materials that is used in all areas of life. Moreover, it can have different technical and decorative characteristics. The manufacturing process of the presented material is rather complicated. Therefore, the choice of equipment for the production of glass should be made very responsibly, so that you do not have to lose income due to marriage.
What types of material are there?
First, consider what types of glass you can make. The most basic are the following types of material:
- Ordinary green glass. It is made only of sand.
- Clear glass. For production, you need to use not only sand, but also pearl. Naturally, such material is more expensive.
- Crystal. For the manufacture of rock crystal and pearl. No sand is required. However, it should be noted that the first component is produced in limited quantities, so such products will be very expensive.
Thanks to various additives, as well as chemical, thermal and mechanical procedures, anything can be done from the presented material: utensils, furniture, building material.
What is glass made of?
In principle, no special components are required for operation. The choice of raw materials for glass production must be careful, because the quality of the finished product depends on this in many respects. It should be noted that the presented material is made only from natural components.
For work you will need high-quality sand, soda and limestone. Naturally, there are other additives that can change the characteristics of the finished product. Before making a choice of equipment for the production of glass, it is necessary to prepare the raw materials.
Features of the choice of components
Naturally, before starting the manufacturing process itself, it is imperative to prepare everything. For example, quartz sand for glass production must be very high quality. Although this particular component is the most affordable. Before use, it must be well sorted, washed without the use of any cleaning agents.
Limestone and soda for glass production do not require any complex treatments. Due to the high temperature, all these components under the influence of high temperature turn into one mass.
What equipment is needed for work?
Now you can, in fact, find out what machines are needed and how to make the right choice of equipment for the production of glass. So you will need:
- electronic scales with which you can correctly measure the necessary proportions of components;
- a special oven that can heat up to 1600 degrees or more;
- a bath with tin, with which you can cool the mass;
- roller conveyor;
- machine for cutting glass into elements of a given size.
In principle, the line for manufacturing the presented material is most often automated. In any case, during operation, you need to be very careful and careful, especially near the furnace, where the temperature is very high.
How to make the right choice?
So, in order for your production to be profitable, you need to decide on the equipment. First of all, it should be powerful enough, since the amount of material that you can give per day depends on this. In addition, the choice of equipment for the production of glass determines the quality of the resulting product.
For example, you need devices that can clean sand well from impurities. You should also pay attention to the conveyor, since it is with this mechanism that the final cooling of the material is performed.
You need to buy equipment only from a trusted manufacturer who has positive reviews and a good reputation. If you do not have enough funds for new machines, you can purchase already used ones.
Naturally, they must be in good condition. Particular attention should be paid to the main units - furnaces for the production of glass, since without them work is impossible. In addition, they must fully comply with all quality standards, because they can be considered an object of increased danger.
Glass production technology
Now we should consider how, in fact, the manufacture of this material is carried out. So, for starters, sand is stored and prepared for remelting. It should be very high quality: without additional impurities, with the same fraction size.
Then the raw material is poured into the furnace, where at high temperature it turns into a liquid mixture, that is, all the grains of sand stick together and form a single whole. However, they cannot return to their original state, since the mass cools too quickly.
During the melting of sand, the necessary components are added to the total mass, which give the glass one or another quality. Next, the gruel is freed from all air bubbles. Then all this mass is transferred to a bath filled with tin, which has a lower temperature.
Therefore, the glass is cooled gradually. However, after the bath, the mass heating temperature is still quite high. Sudden cooling may crack the material. It is in the tin bath that the mixture becomes smooth and transparent.
Then the glass falls on the conveyor, where it continues to cool. Here a peculiar “sheet” is formed, which moves along special rollers. At the extreme point of the conveyor, automatic equipment is installed that controls the quality of the finished material: is the thickness the same over the entire area of the glass sheet, are there air bubbles inside the canvas that spoil the functionality and appearance of the elements. If the flaws are minor, then they are eliminated at the same stage.
Next, the blade drives up to the cutter, which divides the continuous sheet into separate elements. Those scraps that remain after this are again sent to the furnace together with the next portion of raw materials.
Now you know how to make a choice of equipment for the production of glass, as well as the technology of this process. Good luck!
