Abstract: An apparatus for manufacturing glass using a feeding device, via which liquid glass can be supplied to a hot-shaping device. For precise setting of the operational parameters, such as glass temperature and viscosity, a glass flow treating apparatus, which has a flow path with a gradient that is inclined in a direction towards the hot-shaping device, is disposed in a region between the feeding device and the hot-shaping device.

Abstract: A method for producing glass balls, wherein a glass flow is fed between two rollers which are driven synchronously but counter-rotatingly in a flow direction, from a feed tank containing a mass of molten glass. The rollers have hemispherical depressions distributed over the circumference and form spherical beads on a thin glass strip successively in the region of an imaginary contact tangent. A thickness of the glass strip is fixed by the spacing between the rollers externally of the depressions in the region of the contact tangent. Crude balls are separated from the glass strip by a separating device, once the glass strip, containing the spherical beads, is cooled. The crude balls are subjected to a cold surface finishing treatment.

Abstract: A method of producing glass balls, which method can be used for all types of glass, even for glass balls having a very small diameter. If glass fibers or glass rods are plasticized at least partially at their ends by the effect of heat, if glass portions are separated from the plasticized parts of the glass fibers or glass rods, sprayed or passed through nozzles, and if glass balls are formed by subsequently cooling the separated and sprayed glass portions as a result of minimizing the surface energy, then a complex, mechanical surface-finishing treatment is not required.