Photo tour of East Carolina University's new glassblowing facility.

Jan. 2004


The new scientific glassblowing facility at East Carolina University opened in the fall of 2003. The new facility offers an efficient layout for professional glassblowing services and is an educational and instructional example of a modern university research glassblowing operation and design. Typical of many projects the final product differs slightly from initial plans, however, the final version is based upon much of the information found in "Designing the Glassblowing Shop".


 
 
 Administrative/Customer Service.  The administration and customer interaction area is located at the entrance to the glassblowing facility. For customer safety, storage cabinets, desk/work station and furniture are arranged in a manner to block easy access to the Hot Zones or working areas of the shop. Provides an area for customer work pick-up. Visibility from Customer Service to Hot Zone and Student Bench area to be open (one-person shop) for communication and safety.

 


Hot Zone Areas  where the hot working or forming of glass takes place. Work surfaces are a fiber/cement composition that withstand exposure to gas/hydrogen oxygen flames and hot glass. Painted flat black, the background aids in determining subtle differences in flame and glass color during the glassblowing process. Storage area is provided for glass working tools and related equipment. The photo to the left is the main glassworking workbench. Line of sight to the room entrance allows customer interaction without the need for the customer to enter an area that may be hazardous to them.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
 

The student glassworking benches to the right have ample separation for safety and allow for open communication and observation between students and instructor, regardless of where he/she may be in the shop.

 
Compressed gas(es), vacuum, electricity and other services need to be delivered to the glassblowers lathe. It had been determined that all service feeds were going to be from overhead in this facility. A metal housing with removable back panel was provided to enclose and protect the piping, as well as serve as a mounting platform for regulators and hose cocks. The photo's do not show the finished product with all the hose and torch combinations readably available to the glassblower.
 
 


 
The stainless steel sink is 5 feet long to accommodate the 4 foot lengths of tubing. Note faucet placement and drain is located at the end of the sink ...not in the middle. Hot and cold water as well as DI water is available at the sink with compressed air and vacuum nearby. The hand held safety eyewash doubles as a handy rinse hose. The sink depth may be deep as shown, though many prefer a shallow basin in which to work. Adjacent to the sink are standard countertops long enough to serve as work or prep areas for pre- or post wash operations.

Not shown is a canopy hood directly over the sink to aid in chemical fume removal. 

I've found that with only two hands to hold onto soapy (and slippery) glassware, foot operated on/off water valves are the way to go. 


 
Lighting and air movement are two issues glassblowers have to address in designing a new facility.  A few observations that helped determine what would be appropriate for our facility (university research) are illustrated in these two photographs. 

How much lighting is enough ... or to much?  Natural light conditions are controlled by window placement and exposure (if you have windows), and will change with the time of day or season of year. This lighting can be confusing to the student through excessive light reflection or glare directly on the glass being worked or onto the work surface area.  Manually controlled adjustable lighting can help eliminate these problems. This photo illustrates the use of  indirect lighting to lessen glare. The photo to the right is intentionally "enhanced" for illustration. Open a second control switch and the lights function as "normal"
 
 


 

Closed ceiling or open?... Canopy hoods ?  While much can and will be said about the use of open canopy exhaust hoods mounted directly over the glassblowers work bench or lathe, I'm of the opinion that canopy hoods may not be necessary in the university research shop. Many university research glassblowing operations do not operate under the same conditions as the private sector production facility. The university/research glassblower may spend as much (if not more) time in consultation and design as in the act of glassblowing itself. Heat and chemical releases from the glassblowing process will usually be much less than what is found in the production shop.

In many situations a properly balanced air handling system with an appropriate amount of  room air changes as determined by law and/or your facility EH&S and HVAC experts will be more than adequate. Using the open ceiling approach will in effect give you the entire upper room as your canopy to collect the heated air and gases for removal through normal air exchanges. One does need to be aware of air diffuser placement, orientation and operation, however. Air drafts over the hot working areas should be avoided. 

In this particular facility we opted to have a suspended (closed) ceiling over the entry, administrative and student bench areas. This was done for aesthetic reasons, in harmony with the other laboratories and office areas on the floor. The rear of the glassblowing facility, where most of the glassblowing will take place, has the open ceiling. 

 
Casework location and multi-function use can pay big dividends in efficient use of space. The base unit pictured to the left is approximately 6 feet x 6 feet square.... large enough to serve as a staging area for full lengths of glass tubing stored in racks just to the left (not shown) of the unit. The work surface also serves as a prep/work area for the glass saw, drill press, lapping wheel and sink as well as the glassblowers lathe. Storage for tools is plentiful and easily accessible.
 
 
 
 


 
 
 
 

The casework to the right serves as a barrier separating the student benches and customer service area from the main shop. The width/separation is intentionally deep at 5 1/2 feet. Glassware coming in for repair is staged here, minimizing customer and student exposure to sharp and broken glassware. Ample storage of glass parts is provided here and elsewhere in the shop.

Glass Shop Design         Scientific Glassblowing Basics