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Glass guide
Glass guide
++Did you know?
Glass production runs without interruption. This means that once put into operation, a glass furnace runs for five to seven years. After that, the furnace must be completely dismantled and replaced.
What different types of glass are there?
By adding certain additives, different types of glass with different properties can be achieved.
Soda lime glass (normal glass)
- Consists of quartz sand, soda, potash, lime and cullet in a glassworks recipe quantity
- Advantage: cheaper glass, high transparency possible depending on composition
Crystal glass
- Consists of quartz sand, soda, potash, lime and metal oxides in predetermined quantities
- Advantage: high transparency, characteristic sound, fine mouth rim, light weight
Borosilicate glass
- Consists of quartz sand, soda, potash, lime and chemical substances such as silicon dioxide
- Often used in industry and for kitchenware
- Advantage: higher temperature delta than normal glass, thin glass thickness
- Disadvantage: less clear appearance than crystal glass, less beautiful sound
What are the different types of glass production?
- Pressed glass: The viscous mass is placed in a mold, pressed, cooled and removed from the mold by machine. Pressed glass is very stable, has relatively thick glass walls and a visible pressed seam.
- Spun glass: Here the glass mass is placed in a flat mold. The rotating movement of the mold creates plates, for example. This type of production makes structures visible in the glass, so the finished piece is not clear.
- Machine-blown glass: In this type of production, the liquid mass is dropped into a mold and blown against the wall of the mold using compressed air. After cooling, the finished glass can be removed from the mold. Machine-blown glass is characterized by its clear overall appearance.
- Mouth-blown glass: The liquid glass is poured into a wooden mold and blown into shape by mouth. Handles or pouring rims are then shaped and attached by hand. With mouth-blown glass, each piece is unique - so the volume can vary. A filling line can therefore not always be applied in the same place. A special feature of mouth-blown glass is air pockets. These are caused by the fact that less pressure is exerted when processing by hand than with machine-blown glass.
How is the stem attached to the glass?
Stemmed glasses can either be made as one piece or from two pieces. In a one-piece stemmed glass, the stem is pulled out of the goblet and the base plate is formed. With this type of glass, there is no noticeable transition from the goblet to the stem. In the two-piece version, the goblet is fused with the stem at the same temperature. Here you can feel a slight transition between the stem and the goblet. However, the advantage of this is that the same stem can be used for different goblets.
How are the mouth rims made?
There are two different production processes for the mouth rim:
- Hot-cut method: The protruding edge is cut off hot and polished. With this method, the mouth rim is slightly thicker.
- Cold-cut process: The protruding edge is cut off with a laser and polished. The cold processing creates a very fine mouth rim.
How is colored glass made?
Colored glass is a trend and is becoming increasingly popular. To make the glass colored, it can either be painted or dyed through.
Painted glass
Here the finished glass is subsequently lacquered. It is therefore not dishwasher safe, but only suitable for dishwasher. We test our lacquered glasses for you: up to 3000 professional wash cycles are possible without damaging the lacquering.
Solid colored glass
In this variant, the color is added to the liquid glass mass. Colored glasses are dishwasher safe and retain their color permanently.
What properties do glasses have?
- Shatterproof: Cleaning in the dishwasher or falling over on the table does not affect good glasses. Glasses usually break if they are dropped or polished too hard.
- Heat-resistant: Our tea and coffee glasses are all heat-resistant. The temperature delta for heat-resistant glass is approx. 80°C. Borosilicate glass has a higher temperature delta of around 130°C.
- Food safe: All glasses are food safe.
- Dishwasher safe: All glasses are dishwasher safe or suitable for dishwasher. However, the surface is attacked by many wash cycles. The result: the glass looks milky. This oxidation is normal for glass that is cleaned in the dishwasher and occurs sooner or later depending on the water hardness, detergent, descaler, rinse aid and salt.
How to clean glasses properly?
Glasses stay beautiful for the longest if they are cleaned by hand rather than in the dishwasher. Nevertheless, glasses are usually cleaned in the dishwasher in everyday life. It is important to use the right amount of detergent. The amount required may vary depending on the water hardness. In addition, there should always be enough detergent and care product in the dishwasher. In addition to the detergent, the temperature also plays a role: the water temperature should be around 55°C and the rinse temperature between 60°C and 65°C. To prevent the glasses from breaking in the dishwasher, you should make sure that the glasses do not knock against each other. Make sure you remove the glasses from the machine immediately after the end of the wash cycle and use the shortest possible cleaning program.
What is the calibration law all about?
The calibration law has applied to all EU countries since October 2016. This means that
- Every drinking glass is considered a measuring device
- CE marking is mandatory
- A declaration of conformity confirms that the gauge meets the legal requirements