Artificial Blowing Molding Tools

(1) The blowpipe used in the blowing method is made of iron, stainless steel, or nickel-chromium alloy. When the iron blowpipe contacts the glass liquid, it is easy to introduce iron and pollute it. However, the price of iron pipe is the cheapest, so a section of stainless steel pipe or nickel-chromium alloy pipe can be welded to the front end of the iron blowpipe in mass industrial production, as shown in Figure 4-1. The front end of the blowpipe is straight, and there is also a more considerable material picking end. The rear end has a specific arc surface, as Figure 4-2 shows. The first time to take more materials than the blowpipe with a straight front end, blowing the first tiny bubble can be omitted, which is more suitable for the material rod sleeve process. Among them, one refers to the narrow end, used as the nozzle, from which air is blown out, and the other, used to pick materials. Install a rubber hose or wooden sleeve on the blowpipes to prevent burns during operation and increase friction to ensure smooth rotation. When installing the rubber hose, you first need to heat the blowpipe to a red-hot state and put the rubber hose on it while it is still hot. The rubber hose softens when hot and can be easily placed on the blow rod. After determining the position, the rubber hose becomes cold and is fixed on the blow rod without slipping.

Figure 4-1 Front end of glass blowpipe

Figure 4-2 Glass Blowpipe

Many factories have installed compressed air pipelines in the moulding workshop; some branch pipes are connected to the compressed air pipeline, and rubber hoses or connecting guns are installed on the branch pipes. When blowing, the blowing technician connects the rubber hose or connecting gun on the compressed air pipeline to his blowpipe and unplugs the rubber hose or connecting gun when not in use. It is very convenient and dramatically reduces the labour intensity of the blowing worker. When compressed air is used for mould blowing, it isn’t easy to use it in the mould-blowing process because there will be deviations in the amount of material taken each time during manual blowing, so the cooling time of the glass liquid will be different. The blowing technician will manually adjust and control according to the bu softness, hardness and size during the mould blomoumould-blowinghen compressed air is used, the adjustable space is small, and the scrap-producing probability is relatively high. Therefore, it is seldom used in mould-blowing pro mould-blowing, mainly in the blowing process before mould enters or moldleentersng.

(2) Bubble drying machine Figures 4-4 are both bubble drying machines. the bubble drying machine shown in Figure 4-4 can have multiple blowpipes simultaneously. The bubble drying machine uses a small motor as the power source, which drives the disc to rotate through a chain so that the blowpipes rotate continuously and the bubble remains round. In this way, only one small bubble technician can easily control several blowpipes simultaneously to blow air, and the large bubble technician can take it away after it is shaped.

(3) The rolling bowl is a cast iron rolling bowl stand, as shown in Figure 4-5. The semicircular iron hollow body is the rolling bowl. Water flows out through the rubber tube to cool the rolling bowl. Workers blow tiny bubbles and then take the material and roll it into a circle on the rolling bowl. They make giant bubbles while blowing for later moulding. Multiple layers of newspaper or yellow cardboard can be lined in the iron bowl to prevent cooling too quickly and increase lubrication. The red-hot glass material carbonizes the newspaper to form a carbon gas layer, which acts as a lubricant between the glass and the iron bowl.

Figure 4-4 Drying and soaking machine

Figure 4-5 Cast iron rolling bowl rack

(4) Oven (heating furnace) As shown in Figure 4-7, it is a cylinder mouth heating glass. As shown in Figure 4-8, it is a shared oven. It is in a high-temperature state. As shown in Figure 4-9, it is a single oven located in front of the kiln. It is a simple furnace heated by gas or oil, and the temperature can reach 1100-1200℃. It is convenient for complex molding and heat processing.
In actual production, the high temperature state of the oven only accounts for about 50% of the total production time. As shown in Figure 4-8, several oven openings are used simultaneously, and it must be ensured that the furnace is always in a high temperature state. The cavity space of the stove is ample, and the energy consumption is significant. The oven shown in Figure 4-9 avoids the above disadvantages. It uses solenoid valve control. When the blowpipe is placed on the bracket and starts using the oven, the solenoid valve is connected, the air and gas volumes are correctly proportioned, and the temperature rises. When the blowpipe leaves the bracket, the solenoid valve is disconnected. The air and gas volumes are reduced, and the temperature is lowered, achieving the goal of saving energy. This type of oven is mainly used to process the mouth of the product, so some factories simply use a “mouth-baking oven.”

(5) Others In addition, manual blowing also requires many tools, such as shovels, pliers, tweezers, clamps, scissors, paddles, etc. As shown in Figure 4-10, scissors are used to modify the mouth when blowing. As shown in Figure 4-11, pliers are used to expand the mouth. As shown in Figure 4-12, a fork is used to send the product into the annealing kiln. The purpose of wrapping the fiberglass cloth on the head is to prevent the hot glass product from producing cracks when it contacts the fork. When working, choose forks of different diameters according to the size of the product.

Figure 4-10 Scissors used to modify the mouth when blowing

Figure 4-11 Pliers for flaring

Figure 4-12 Forks used to feed products into the annealing kiln

Hand-blown mold

This section mainly introduces how to make simple moulds using steel and metal plates and some tips to pay attention to during the glass-blowing process. Here is a summary after sorting:

Metal moulds can be made by simple welding. For example, Figure A shows a prism made by welding a cut steel tube and a metal base plate. This mould design is simple and easy to make. Figure B shows another version, welded from flat metal sheets. These moulds can also evolve into more styles. The only limit is imagination. In addition, forged metal parts can be added to the mould design, such as the spiral mould in Figure C, which can be used to obtain more complex glass shapes.

Plate steel moulds offer endless design possibilities. Letters, patterns and other patterns can be engraved on the steel plate using a plasma torch, and other parts can be welded to the mould’s inner surface to form various complex texture layers. As long as there are no undercuts and the finished product can be easily removed, this mould can be used thousands of times with minor damage to the mould.

Preheating metal and graphite moulds during the blowing process is a good idea because cold moulds can absorb heat from hot glass, especially when the mould has large, flat areas. Be careful not to overheat, which may cause the glass to stick to the metal surface.

（A）

（B）

（C）

Another preheating method is to pre-blow before the formal blowing so that the mould can be preheated to prepare for the formal production. This method is very effective in mass production. If cold spots or cracks appear on the glass surface, the preheating temperature of the mould can be increased; if adhesion occurs between the glass and the mould, the preheating temperature needs to be appropriately reduced.

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