Knowledge About Glass Beads

Knowledge About Glass Beads

Glass beads are a unique feature of abrasives used in cleaning or metal surface strengthening processes, primarily for sandblasting equipment.

Glass beads are made from high quality cullet crushed and sorted. In manufacturing, the cullet is fused into a ball and annealed to eliminate internal stress and prevent breakage. This transparent, clear spherical structure product does not have particles embedded in the workpiece during use, contaminating the workpiece or causing other damage. Using different sizes of abrasives and different operating parameters, the glass beads will achieve different gloss levels on the surface of the workpiece. The use of shot blasting glass beads for selective localized controlled blasting on the surface of the workpiece produces a special decorative effect.

The excellent properties of the glass beads make it suitable for use in cleaning or deburring workpieces with strict deviations without damaging the surface of the workpiece. Moreover, the inherent strength of the glass beads makes it suitable for use in equipment capable of circulating abrasives.

Glass beads are also widely used to treat workpiece surfaces with residual tension or under cyclic pressure to produce compressive stress layers for surface strengthening purposes. The use of glass beads to strengthen the surface of the workpiece reduces potential hazards such as surface erosion or surface fatigue. Surface treatment with glass beads is cost-effective and precise.

The chemical properties of glass beads are inert and non-toxic. During use, no iron or other harmful substances remain on the surface of the workpiece, nor will it adversely affect the surrounding environment.

First, the history of glass beads

It has existed since the Western Zhou Dynasty. It was very popular during the Warring States Period. At present, the burial glassware in the Warring States period tombs has almost all glass beads. Its development is inseparable from the continuous improvement of technology and equipment, and the glass texture is more clean. In addition, there are fewer jade stones for people to wear, and they cannot meet the requirements of people, and promote the mass production and exquisiteness of glass beads production.

In 1978, a set of bells that attracted worldwide attention was unearthed from the tomb of Zenghou Yi of the Diangudun, Sui County, Hubei Province. Many glass beads were unearthed. The two strings of glass beads in this picture are the funerary objects in this tomb. One of the strings is made of seven monochromatic glass beads, the beads are round, purple-brown, the surface is smooth, and the shape is regular. The other bead is beautifully decorated, which is a typical blinking glass bead. It is mostly oblate in shape, with light blue or green as the base color, and the surface is decorated with several white, light blue concentric rings. The center is slightly above the circumference and is convex.

The string of glass beads should be made by entangled silk, and then the white material and the light blue material are respectively taken out, and the ring is placed on the bead tire, and the two are not completely condensed. Blinking glass beads are the main form of glass beads during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. At the same time, it is also distributed throughout Central Asia, West Asia and North Africa. It is a common species of Chinese and Western glassware. The size of each bead in the string is different. Except for one green diamond shape, the other shapes are oblate, with perforations in the shape, and the shape is uniform. These glass beads are bright and sleek, reflecting a high level of technology and can be used as a typical representative of glass beads during the Warring States Period.

Second, modern glass beads

Glass beads are a common jewelry accessory, widely used in clothing, evening dresses, shoes, hats, handbags, headwear, wool textiles, beaded embroidery, lighting, handicrafts, etc. Currently, the main production site is located in Fuyang, Chaozhou, Guangdong Province. Product market and Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, Guangdong and Zhejiang are the two largest glass bead production and sales regions.

The main production areas of road reflective glass beads are concentrated in Daqing City, Heilongjiang Province. Hebei Yongqing County has concentrated most trading companies, mainly from Daqing. Domestic large-scale glass bead production enterprises include Daqing Lutong Technology Co., Ltd. Reflective glass beads are divided into ordinary glass beads and high refractive index glass beads. Ordinary glass beads are mainly used for road coatings with a refractive index of 1.5 or more. High-refractive-index glass beads are mainly used in reflective woven fabrics, such as traffic police clothes, highway signage, etc.

Classification of three glass beads

According to the glass bead size range (um) glass bead mass percentage (%), glass beads are roughly divided into three categories 

(1) glass beads for jewelry 

(2) glass beads for roads 

(3) mechanical sandblasting, polishing glass beads .