Glass Shaping

Abstract

The possibility to shape glass easily and in all kind of forms for applications in our everyday life is one of the key factors to its success. The fabrication of a glass article comprises a succession of steps, often starting from a hot glass melt that is shaped during its cooling. The product can then be worked at lower temperatures, to modify its dimensions or its surface finish. In this chapter, the shaping processes at both high and low temperatures are presented. In a first part, the different forming processes (shaping at high temperature) developed by the glass industry are illustrated, and a specific emphasis is given to glass viscosity, a key parameter in these processes. In the second part of the chapter, the shaping processes occurring at low temperatures, such as cutting or grinding, are described. In this section, specific attention is given to the mechanical behavior of the glass during the process as well as to machining parameters.