Procesos industriales: formación de metales, soplado de vidrio y fundición de metales

Industrial processes involving metals and glass involve various methods to produce objects and structures utilizing these materials. Two primary practices within this field are metal forming and glass blowing, which often overlap with other techniques such as metal casting.

Metal Forming

Metal forming refers to the process of shaping metal through mechanical deformation by compressive forces, without significant heat. Common metal forming processes include extrusion, stamping, drawing, and rolling. Extrusion involves forcing metal through a die to create specific shapes or tubing. Stamping uses a mechanical press to shape metal into various forms such as parts for automobiles. Drawing processes include drawing wire, rod, and tube through dies of decreasing size to reduce diameter and increase length. Rolling flattens large pieces of metal by passing them between two cylindrical rollers.

Glass Blowing

Glass blowing is an ancient technique used to create glassware and other objects by inflating molten glass with a blowpipe. The process begins by heating the glass in a furnace until it becomes soft enough to work with. Once removed from the furnace, a blowpipe is inserted into the molten glass and rolled over a flat metal slab called a marver to control its shape and temperature. Next, colored crushed glass is added to give the piece design and a final shape is achieved by blowing air into the blowpipe while rotating the piece. To remove the finished glass piece from the blowpipe, steel tweezers called jacks are used. Finally, the blown glass is taken to an annealing oven to cool slowly over several hours, preventing breakage due to rapid temperature changes.

Metal Casting

Metal casting involves melting raw materials like metals into liquid form and then pouring them into a mold where they solidify. This process creates objects with intricate shapes that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to produce through other methods. Common types of metal casting include sandcasting and lost wax casting. Sandcasting uses treated silica sand molds, which are filled with melted hot glass using a ladle. Open-faced molding is another technique, utilizing plaster around clay patterns to create the desired shape before filling the mold with glass and casting in a kiln. Lost wax casting builds molds around sacrificial wax models and captures fine details when the molten glass flows into the cavity left by the wax.

In summary, industrial processes involving metals and glass involve various techniques such as metal forming, glass blowing, and metal casting. Each method contributes unique capabilities for producing objects ranging from functional items to artistic creations. These practices have evolved over centuries, shaped by human ingenuity and technological advancements.