1. Preparation of raw materials: The main raw materials of glass are silica (such as quartz sand), sodium carbonate (soda alkali) and calcium carbonate (limestone). These raw materials need to be crushed and screened to obtain proper particle size and purity.
2. Melting: The prepared raw materials are mixed in a certain proportion and put into a glass melting furnace for melting. Glass kilns usually use gas, electricity or oil as heat sources to heat raw materials to a high temperature (about 1500℃) and melt them into liquid.
3. Molding: Molten glass can be molded by different methods. Common molding methods include float, blow molding, extrusion and molding. Floating method is the most commonly used method. By pouring molten glass evenly on the molten tin pool, it floats on the tin pool and gradually cools to form continuous flat glass.
4. Cooling annealing: the formed glass needs to be gradually cooled and solidified. During the cooling process, the glass will gradually harden. Then, the glass needs to be annealed, that is, heated to a lower temperature again to reduce the internal stress and improve the strength and stability of the glass.
5. Processing and decoration: The cooled and solidified glass can be processed and decorated by cutting, grinding, edging and firing. These steps can be customized according to the end use of glass to meet different needs.
The above is the general manufacturing process of glass, and different kinds of glass may have some special manufacturing steps or processes.