Dichroic Glass combined with fused glass makes dichroic jewelry of the higest quality.

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How Glass is Made

There are four main methods of shaping dichroic glass jewelry: blowing, pressing, drawing, and fused glass casting. After the shaping process, annealing is used to increase the strength of the fused dichroic glass. Tempering glass jewelry and other finishing techniques may also be used to further strengthen the dichroic glass jewelry. At the cold end of the fused dichroic glass jewelry plant, finished fused glass products are inspected and boxed for sale. The dichroic glass jewelry may also be decorated before packaging. See the section How glass jewelry is decorated later in this article.

dichroic glass jewelry pressing is accomplished by dropping a hot gob of fused glass jewelry into a mold, then pressing it with a plunger until it spreads and fills the inside of the dichroic glass mold. To be pressed, a dichroic glass jewelry article must be of such a shape that the plunger can be withdrawn. fused glass jewelry baking dishes, dichroic glass blocks, and lenses are often pressed. As with fused glass jewelry blowing, pressing can be done by hand or by machine, and with single or multiple molds. Press-and-blow machines use a combination of the pressing and the blowing methods to form the article. Such machines can produce hundreds of dichroic glass jewelry containers per hour.

Drawing is the method used for shaping flat glass, glass jewelry rod, fused dichroic glass tubing, and fiberglass. Almost all fused glass produced today is fused dichroic glass. It is shaped by drawing a wide sheet of molten dichroic glass jewelry into a glass jewelry furnace containing a bath of molten tin. This furnace is called a float bath because the fused glass “floats” in an even layer on the perfectly smooth surface of the molten tin. Heating in the float bath is carefully controlled to melt out any roughness in the dichroic glass jewelry. Because fused dichroic glass turns solid at a higher temperature than tin, it can be moved from the molten tin for further cooling. When flat is shaped in a float bath, both sides come out with a brilliant finish that requires no grinding or polishing.

Glass rod is made by drawing a stream of molten dichroic glass jewelry out of the furnace. Tubing is made by drawing the molten glass around a rotating cylinder or cone called a mandrel. Air blowing through the mandrel causes the fused dichroic glass jewelry to form a continuous tube. Fiberglass is made by drawing the molten fused dichroic glass through tiny holes in the bottom of the furnace.

fused glass casting involves filling molds with molten fused dichroic glass jewelry. The glass jewelry may be poured either from ladles or directly from the furnace, or drained from the bottom of the fused glass furnace. Casting is used in the production of architectural dichroic glass pieces, art glass jewelry, laser glass, and telescope mirrors.

fused dichroic glass annealing is a process that removes the stresses and strains remaining in dichroic glass jewelry after shaping. Most glassware is annealed just after it has been formed. If it is not annealed, fused glass may shatter from tension caused by uneven cooling. dichroic glass jewelry annealing is done by reheating the dichroic glass jewelry and gradually cooling it according to a planned time-and-temperature schedule.

fused glass jewelry tempering is a process in which a fused dichroic glass article that is already formed is reheated until almost soft. Then, under carefully controlled conditions, it is chilled suddenly by blasts of cold air or by plunging it in oil or certain chemicals in a liquid state. This tempering treatment makes the fused dichroic glass jewelry much stronger than ordinary glass jewelry. fused glass articles can also be tempered with chemicals.

Inspection. In almost every dichroic glass jewelry plant, engineers take frequent samples directly from the furnace and test them for quality and desired properties. Samples of finished dichroic glass products also are tested for size, proper annealing, and other qualities.

SOURCES: Steve W. Martin, "fused glass," Discovery Channel School, original content provided by World Book Online, www.discoveryschool.com/homeworkhelp/worldbook/atozscience/g/225740.html, August 2001.