Every Tube Tells a Different Story
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Every tube tells a different story Discover the world of some technical tubing applications Pioneering. Responsibly. Together. These attributes have characterized SCHOTT, manufacturer of special glass, glass-ceramics and other innovative materials, for over 130 years. As #glasslovers and inventor of special glass, we are reliable partners for high-tech industries to enable new market launches and applications. Our goal is to become climate neutral by 2030. With a production capacity of more than 190,000 tons and production sites in Europe, South America and Asia, SCHOTT Tubing is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of glass tubes, rods and profiles. More than 60 different glass types are produced in a large variety of dimensional and cosmetic specifications based on a standardized production process and a global quality assurance system. SCHOTT Tubing provides customized products and services for international growth markets such as pharmaceuticals and electronics as well as industrial and environmental engineering. SCHOTT®, AR-GLAS®, CONTURAX®, CONTURAX® Pro and DURATAN® are registered trademarks of SCHOTT. DURAN® is a registered trademark of the DWK Life Sciences GmbH. Contents Industry 6 Tackling the Ventilator Challenge 6 How glass attracts sportswear 7 Perfect place for algae and biorefining 9 Sustainable aquaculture 11 Engineered not just build 13 Washing the air 15 Enjoy sustainability 17 Security at your fingertips 18 Hanging gardens 21 As clear as Water 25 Precise cuts 28 Inventive Spirit with a Perfect Outlook 30 Recovering Energy intelligently 32 Materials at the Limit 34 In a Case full of Cash 36 A Potent Gas: Ozone 38 Lighting 40 Handcrafted Light Design 40 Light in the Desert 42 Signaling the future 44 Seeing the Light in Case of Emergency 46 Special Effects with Lighting 48 Floating Sculpture 49 Art & Design 50 Swinging with glass 50 Generating energy naturally 52 Technology meets aesthetics 53 Printing in the third dimension 56 Simply good coffee 58 The People’s Smile 59 Touching magic made of glass, light and sound 60 Glass tubes with edges 60 Infinite Light Loop 61 Creating Something New Without Replacing what is Old 62 Unconventional Glass – Tubing for Exquisite Effects 64 Tackling the Ventilator Challenge In Spring 2020, the UK government issued a nationwide “call to arms” to produce medical ventilators needed to treat critically-ill COVID-19 patients. A consortium of industrial, technology and engineering businesses from the aerospace, automotive and medical sectors came together to manufacture 15,000 units. Amongst them, MPB Industries stepped up to the challenge to supply flowmeters – a critical component of ventilators. What role did MPB specifically play engineers from Ford to join us for the in the UK Ventilator Challenge? duration of the project. Typically, we would produce around 0 pairs of these MPB had to produce all the variable particular flow tubes in a normal working area flowmeters needed to produce day. However, by developing more 15,000 ventilators from the medical tooling, improving production processes device company Penlon. This comprised and working a 2 x 10 hour shift pattern of 30,000 flowmeter tubes in total. for six days per week, we were able to We also produced several hundred increase this output 10-fold to 500 pairs flowmeters that were used to check the per day. When the original order for Industries MPB Photo: performance of the ventilators whilst 10,000 tubes was trebled to 30,000, it Jason Bennion is Managing Director at MPB going through the production lines. was a relief to hear that SCHOTT could Flowmeters, where he’s worked for nearly move the production slot forward and twenty years over two periods. Why are flowmeters needed for deliver the glass tubing in time for us ventilators? to be able to keep up with the three MPB Industries was formed in 1986 assembly lines that were building by two partners and over the years To put it simply: When used in ventilators, ventilators 24 hours a day for 12 weeks. has grown to 20 employees spread one tube delivers oxygen and the other over three factories in Kent, England. supplies air to the patient. Actually, a Why do you use glass tubing for the The company was sold in 2019 to the variable area flowmeter is a very simple flowmeters? SDI Group and now comprises ten device. A float is placed inside a tube sister companies. that has an internal taper and as more We use glass because of its transparency, gas or fluid passes through it the higher the fact that we can form and cut it to the float rises. The flow rate is indicated our requirement and add a permanently by a permanently fired enamel scale fired enamel scale. that we apply to the outside of the tube. We find that the glass tube that SCHOTT In practice, the tolerances involved to provide us with is dimensionally accurate produce these instruments are down and stable all while being scratch- to microns and both the glass tube and resistant, which is important for a visual float are made to these exacting standards. instrument. Nearly every product that Industries MPB Photos: we produce features a glass tube for meas- What are the main challenges in pro- uring gas or liquid flows or capacities. Flowmeters with Medical ventilators ducing and supplying a product that “We are immensely proud of how our DURAN® glass tubing from Penlon featuring form an integral part flowmeters from MPB helps in the fight against COVID-19? company was able to rise up and meet of a fully assembled ready to leave the the challenge put to us and how the ventilator machine. warehouse. The project was of such a large scale consortium all pulled together on this that it involved everyone in our company enormous task.“ – Jason Bennion, SCHOTT Product: DURAN® tubing January 7, 2021 and we called on the assistance of five Managing Director at MPB Industries 6 How glass attracts sportswear Tubing made of specialty glass is a genuine all-round and permanent magnet for innovative ideas and applications. Millimeter-thin DURAN® capillaries used in manufacturing elastic threads for textiles demonstrate how valuable and attractive they can be in current technical applications. Photo: Adobe Stock-©Jacob Lund Stock-©Jacob Adobe Photo: They were first used in laboratory cameras with novel technology for resistance, and superior resistance technology, but have been conquering online streaming. In environmental to corrosion. Tubing’s good electrical a wide variety of markets for over technology, glass tubes are key insulation properties even make it 120 years: tubes, rods and capillaries elements for innovative air purification ideally suited for high-voltage appli- made of many different specialty systems using UV light. Glass tubing cations such as generating X-rays glasses which come in a wide range products have even found their way in radiology. of dimensions. These all-rounders into interior design, where they sur- are quietly enabling truly amazing prise us in modern design solutions. innovations. The secret to the success of applying Glass tube systems up to several kilo- glass tubing to multiple applications meters long used in photobioreactors lies in its superior material, processing ensure the ideal cultivation of algae quality, and flexibility. Although unob- for food supplements or care products. trusive on the outside, glass tubing An anti-reflective coated glass tube outperforms other materials many times which protects against scratches, over thanks to the advantages it offers. environmental impact and reflections Glass tubing scores points compared Photo: World Flex Public Company Limited was a major door-opener for the to plastic and metals with its excellent With the help of glass tubes, liquid natural latex commercialization of 360-degree optical properties, high temperature is transformed into numerous threads. 7 Photo: SCHOTT Chemically resistant DURAN® glass capillaries withstand acid in continuous use and ensure precise thread strengths. Permanent use in an acid bath injection. Stainless steel tubes which “The usage of glass capillaries leads are typically used can rust over time. to stable processes and saves us In yet another new application in The process of replacing them can maintenance work and production Thailand, tubing’s precision and robust- abruptly halt the 24-hour production costs due to less disturbances,” ness proved to be quite convincing. cycle and cause delays. concludes Mr. Suthep Numuean, The Southeast Asian country is Deputy of Production Manager from considered the world’s largest rubber First manufacturers are now using World Flex Public Company Limited, exporter, with major producers and DURAN® glass capillaries instead. They the leading producer of high-quality processors of natural latex located are recommended, supplied and cut rubber thread based in Thailand. Now there. The rubber material is processed to size by SCHOTT’s customer Triviwat SCHOTT can once again ask itself: What into elastic threads, which provide the Intertrade Co. a Thai glass processor. is the next milestone for the extremely necessary textile flexibility in sports- The chemically resistant borosilicate attractive best-sellers made of glass? wear and underwear, for example. glass resists the acid even in continuous Liquid latex is injected through dozens use. In addition, the narrow, stable of thin tubes to produce threads by tolerances of the inner diameter of machine, forming numerous contin- the capillaries ensure precise thread uous threads lying side by side, which strengths. This is necessary to achieve are then passed through further smooth textile surfaces after the processing stages by rollers. The tubes threads have been woven into clothing are permanently immersed in a liquid fabrics. The narrow outside diameter of sulphuric acid, which hardens the tolerances also play an important role, liquid latex immediately after as the tubes must fit into existing machines.