Why Choose Weprofab ’s Borosilicate Glass Tube?
- All of the borosilicate glass tubes are manufactured under ISO 9001 quality control system.
- We offer AR, AG, AF, and AS coating services for your borosilicate glass tubes.
- We can provide bending and other custom shaping services for tubes.
- Support flexible MOQ for your purchased borosilicate glass tubes.
Professional Borosilicate Glass Tube Manufacture in China
Weprofab’s borosilicate glass tubes are crafted from high quality materials. All products have excellent high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, and UV protection, ensuring a long service life for you.
We offer customization options, allowing you to make selection among different colors, sizes, shapes, and more based on your specific application needs. We also provide functional coating services (AF/AR). Before the shipment, all products will undergo a thorough ultrasonic cleaning process to ensure that the borosilicate glass you receive is mechanically stable, transparent, and has a smooth surface.
SXET offers clear borosilicate glass tubes in a variety of specifications, with diameters ranging from 4 mm to 460 mm.
We also offer transparent and opaque colored borosilicate glass tubes. By adding elements such as iron and copper, they can have different and stable colors.
We can produce bent glass tubes according to your specific application. You just need to simply provide us with a sketch and necessary specifications.
Features of Weprofab ’s Borosilicate Glass Tube
Used borosilicate glass tubes can be melted down and reprocessed for reuse, reducing the material waste and polluting the environment.
With a low coefficient of thermal expansion, it has better resistance to the high temperature.
It is a stable material to withstand most kinds of acid or alkalis (except the HF). thus it can ensure the stability of many chemical reactions.
Compared to normal glass tubes, its Mohs hardness is between 6-7, which means a better ability to resist the scratch and keep the surface smoothness.
Different Coating Available
Depending on your specific requirements, we can provide a variety of surface treatments for your borosilicate glass tubes. Weprofab can apply AR, AG, AF, and AS coatings to all equipment to further enhance its adaptability to different application environments, meeting the different performance requirements of chemical plants, laboratories, or outdoor applications.
UV-Resistant Borosilicate Glass Tubes
From an optical perspective, most short wavelength UV light can be absorbed by the borosilicate glass tubes. Therefore, when used outdoors, they effectively reduce the effects of UV radiation, preventing issues such as aging and brittleness. Additionally, when they are used in lighting equipment, they also can block UV rays and protect internal media or components, further extending their service life.
Wide Range of Dimensions
Weprofab offers borosilicate glass tubes in a wide range of sizes, with over 100 options available. Diameters range from 4 mm to 460 mm, and wall thicknesses range from 0.9 mm to 9 mm. You can select and customize these based on your specific operating conditions, as different specifications mean different levels of pressure resistance. We provide highly flexible design and selection options to meet your needs.
Laboratories are the main application area for borosilicate glass tubes. Due to their excellent heat resistance and corrosion resistance, they are commonly used as test and condenser tubes. They can be heated and provide an environment for chemical reactions. Their transparency also helps real-time observation of the reaction status.
In the lighting industry, the outstanding light transmittance of borosilicate glass tubes makes them suitable for use as lighting tubes. Since high temperatures may be generated during the lighting process, borosilicate glass tubes are resistant to deformation or shattering when heated, ensuring more stable and safer operation.
Borosilicate glass tubes can also be used as heat-collecting tubes to capture and use solar energy. Their high light transmittance enhances the efficiency of solar radiation absorption. At the same time, their weather resistance including UV resistance and tolerance to temperature fluctuations help improve performance and structural stability during outdoor use.
In the chemical and medical fields, borosilicate glass tubes serve as important transportation tubes and containers for chemical reagents such as acids and alkalis. Due to their chemical inertness, they do not react with various chemical substances, ensuring the reliability in use and safety in the medical field.
Yes. In terms of the compositionl, boron oxide, silicon dioxide, and other components are all non-toxic and free of heavy metals. It does not release harmful substances during use, and that is a reason why borosilicate glass can even be used as food containers.
In addition, its properties and structure are highly stable, it is less likely to crack or explode when heated. Nowadays, borosilicate glass tubes are used in many kinds of fields, including food and pharmaceuticals.
Yes. Though borosilicate glass tubes have improved hardness and structural strength compared to ordinary glass tubes. They are still likely to break when exposed to external impact. What you can rest assured is that we can take physical tempering steps to enhance their impact resistance and extend their service life.
No, generally speaking, borosilicate glass tubes are more suitable for medium- and low pressure environments. And their specific pressure resistance is determined by the tube diameter and wall thickness. However, due to the inherently fragile nature of glass, borosilicate glass still has a risk of breaking or even shattering in high pressure gas delivery systems and high pressure reaction vessels.
In the laboratory, you can clean your borosilicate glass tubes with a neutral detergent or organic solvent, then rinse them thoroughly with deionized water to prevent residual substances from affecting future use. You also can use ultrasonic cleaning to remove the stubborn stains.
You should avoid knocking or bumping the tubes during use. If you notice any scratches or cracks, you should replace them immediately.
In a typical laboratory environment, borosilicate glass tubes can last for several years. However, in environments with high temperatures or corrosive media, their service life may be shortened, so you should inspect them regularly for cracks or other issues.
What Is a Borosilicate Glass Tube?
Borosilicate glass tube is made of borosilicate. It is a type of glass that mainly consists of Sio2 and B2O3 (more than 5%), along with small amounts of other elements such as aluminum oxide.
The high silicon content gives it stable chemical and mechanical properties, while the boron oxide enhances the thermal stability and results in a low coefficient of thermal expansion. In today’s laboratories, industry, and many other fields, borosilicate glass tube plays a critical role due to its stable properties.
How Was Borosilicate Glass Tube Manufactured?
Material Preparation and Melting
Before producing the borosilicate glass tubes, we must first prepare the raw materials for borosilicate glass. This step involves thoroughly mixing the high purity silica, borax, alumina, and the necessary alkali metal oxides in precise proportions. These complex components determine the structural strength and chemical stability of the borosilicate glass.
Next, we place this mixture into a furnace and heat the materials to temperatures as high as 1700°C. The aim of this step is to transform them into the transparent borosilicate state we need for the final tube product. During this process, we must strictly control both temperature and the time to prevent the problem such as bubbles or uneven melting.
Drawing Borosilicate Glass Tubes
The borosilicate glass will be drawn into tubes by using specific processes and molds. During this step, we need to precisely control the parameters such as the diameter and wall thickness of the borosilicate glass to ensure dimensional consistency for every tube in mass production.
Annealing
However, this tube form is not the final product. We must place the formed borosilicate glass tubes into an annealing furnace for slow cooling. This process releases the internal stresses generated during heating and further enhances the glass’s heat resistance and mechanical strength.
Cutting
In this procedure, the annealed glass tubes are cut to specific lengths by using CNC machines. They ensure the clean cut edges and dimensional accuracy. After polishing the edges and surfaces, we produce finished borosilicate glass tubes with uniform wall thickness and a smooth surface.
If you have special requirements, we can also apply anti-reflective or anti-fouling coatings.
Quality Inspection
The quality inspection stage for finished products is equally essential. We will take a comprehensive inspection including surface quality, edge smoothness, dimensions, and wall thickness uniformity. Only borosilicate glass tubes that meet our inspection standards are allowed to be shipped to your location.
Borosilicate Glass Tube ’s Properties
Physical Properties
In terms of thermal stability, borosilicate glass has a very low coefficient of thermal expansion (approximately 3.3×10–⁶/K). This property helps it maintain its original structure under high temperatures or the temperature fluctuations, preventing cracks, deformation, or damage during heating or thermal shock. Therefore, it is suitable for applications involving heating, such as in laboratories and factories.
In terms of hardness, borosilicate glass has a Mohs hardness of approximately 6–7. Therefore, you still need to be careful when using it and avoid possible impacts.
Chemical Properties
The chemical properties of borosilicate glass include strong corrosion resistance. Both silicon dioxide and boron oxide are chemically inert substances. So when used as glass tubes, they can safely contain various solvents, including acids and alkalis, without reacting or being corroded. However, you should note that ordinary borosilicate glass test tubes should not be used to contain hydrofluoric acid, as this acid is highly corrosive and requires specialized containers.
Optical Properties
Borosilicate glass has a light transmittance of approximately 90%, offering high transparency. It can be used as an optical heating component or an optical conduit. While its transparency is slightly lower than that of sapphire glass, borosilicate glass offers better value for money when you need to balance the performance and cost.
Borosilicate Glass Tubes vs. Quartz Glass Tubes and Sapphire Glass Tubes
| Properties | Borosilicate glass tube | Quartz glass tube | Sapphire glass tube |
| Main Content | SiO2, B2O3 | High purity SiO2 | Single crystal Al₂O₃ |
| Mohs | 6-7 | 7 | 9 |
| Light Transmittance | Used to transmit visible light range, it can absorb part of UV | Range from UV to IR spectrum | More stable and wider transmission from UV to IR |
| Working temperature | Long term operating temperature up to 450℃ | As high as 1000℃(long term) | 1600-2000℃(long term) |
| Coefficient of thermal expansion（approx） | 3.3×10-6/K | 0.5×10-6/K | 5.0×10-6/K |
| Processing difficulty | Lower | Medium | Higher |
| Cost | Lower | Medium | Higher |
| Applications | Laboratory, chemical processing pipelines, lighting equipment | Semiconductors,UV systems | High-end optical device |
In terms of the balance between performance and cost, borosilicate glass tubes are suitable for most industrial and laboratory environments.
Quartz glass tubes are suitable for high-temperature applications or semiconductor fabrication due to their high purity and high temperature resistance, and can be used as UV lamp tubes, etc.
Sapphire glass maintains structural stability and light transmittance under high temperature and pressure, making it suitable for use in the aerospace sector or as laser protection tubes.
How to Choose High Quality Borosilicate Glass Tube?
Consider the Transparency
When selecting borosilicate glass tubes, factors you need to consider include the transparency of the tubes themselves. This is particularly important in laboratory applications, as it allows you to assess the state of the contents and observe the reaction process.
Of course, good transparency also indirectly reflects the quality of the raw materials used by the manufacturer and its processing capabilities (such as whether polishing steps are included).
Check Diameter and Wall Thickness
You also need to consider parameters such as the tube’s diameter and wall thickness. These parameters must be reasonably designed to balance the structural strength and performance of the borosilicate glass tube. Borosilicate tubes with excessively thin walls are not only prone to breakage but also fail to deliver the performance you expect.
Borosilicate glass tubes of different sizes are suitable for different applications. Common diameters range from 4 mm to 460 mm. Generally, laboratory test tubes have a diameter of 6 mm and a wall thickness of approximately 1 mm; however, for industrial applications, you will need to select tubes with thicker walls, larger diameters, or even those capable of withstanding higher thermal stresses.
Compatibility with Your Project
At the same time, the compatibility of borosilicate glass tubing with your project is equally important. You need to confirm that its dimensions match your existing fixtures or flanges. And you should also verify its temperature tolerance and whether it supports heating methods such as direct flame or water bath heating.
Of course, the best way to ensure this is to ask the manufacturer if they offer custom tubing. This requires you to provide comprehensive information to ensure you select the most suitable borosilicate glass tubing.
