On the use of ultra-thin glass as building material in our vapes

[KeroZen]

I stumbled on that episode of the much excellent "how it's made" series about ultra thin glass:

...and of course I immediately thought about using it as a material inside our vapes! It could insulate wood or other materials from the air/vapor path while at the same time being so much less likely to break than standard thick glass and it would also steal less heat/energy from the nearby heater (in case we use it say to shield the heater like in the Mi/Zi/Splinter) as its mass would be really small.

We could then wrap the rolled sheet with an optional metal foil to reflect radiant heat back (aluminium, stainless steel or any mirror-like finish) but it's not the topic.

Apparently you can roll it but I don't know what the minimum radius would be. I did a quick search and there are plenty of ready-made sheets costing almost nothing for tablets and smart phones, like in these links for instance:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Tra...6S-Plus-7-8-78-plus-X-Screen/32886962505.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Scr...ote2-tempered-glass-9h-0-3mm/32616704612.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Del...T3-7-8-10-Tablet-PC-9H-0-3mm/32822999007.html

But I imagine those have a layer of adhesive and/or special coatings that we don't want to deal with nor insert in our vapor paths. So I quickly looked on alibaba and there is plenty too, with the thickness and finish we desire, like this one:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Best-Quality-0-2mm-0-3mm_60780767883.html

Or this one where in the "function" field they even include "heat reflective glass":

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Tking0-1mmT-410x410mm-Roll-To-Roll_60708799861.html

Here's the search I did:

https://www.alibaba.com/trade/searc...t_en&CatId=&SearchText=ultra+thin+glass+sheet

So, did anyone already work with this material? Anyone has any experience? Counter-indications? Is this a good idea or a bad one? What do you guys think?

 

[Abysmal Vapor]

Haha imagine you could roll your own stem ,lol....

 

[KeroZen]

I ordered a cheap and thin one already cut to iPhone size, as the price was ridiculous so I figured it wouldn't be a big loss.

And it's indeed very flexible but I don't think we could achieve a radius small enough to act as a heater liner. But I didn't try very hard though, as I was not wearing gloves and past a certain resistance it made me a bit nervous...

Also I didn't have anything ready to try to insert it into, so even if I managed to roll it it would have been for nothing. In the end I postponed the test. I'll come back to it later.

 

[Baron23]

I stumbled on that episode of the much excellent "how it's made" series about ultra thin glass:

...and of course I immediately thought about using it as a material inside our vapes! It could insulate wood or other materials from the air/vapor path while at the same time being so much less likely to break than standard thick glass and it would also steal less heat/energy from the nearby heater (in case we use it say to shield the heater like in the Mi/Zi/Splinter) as its mass would be really small.

We could then wrap the rolled sheet with an optional metal foil to reflect radiant heat back (aluminium, stainless steel or any mirror-like finish) but it's not the topic.

Apparently you can roll it but I don't know what the minimum radius would be. I did a quick search and there are plenty of ready-made sheets costing almost nothing for tablets and smart phones, like in these links for instance:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Tra...6S-Plus-7-8-78-plus-X-Screen/32886962505.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Scr...ote2-tempered-glass-9h-0-3mm/32616704612.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Del...T3-7-8-10-Tablet-PC-9H-0-3mm/32822999007.html

But I imagine those have a layer of adhesive and/or special coatings that we don't want to deal with nor insert in our vapor paths. So I quickly looked on alibaba and there is plenty too, with the thickness and finish we desire, like this one:

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Best-Quality-0-2mm-0-3mm_60780767883.html

Or this one where in the "function" field they even include "heat reflective glass":

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Tking0-1mmT-410x410mm-Roll-To-Roll_60708799861.html

Here's the search I did:

https://www.alibaba.com/trade/searc...t_en&CatId=&SearchText=ultra+thin+glass+sheet

So, did anyone already work with this material? Anyone has any experience? Counter-indications? Is this a good idea or a bad one? What do you guys think?

Always like that show. I had a dear friend with terminal cancer. He was divorced and dying and so the guys from the skeet club would platoon in and take care of him in shifts. He LOVED that show so I sat with him often to watch it. He's gone now, but seeing this reminds me of him.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

@KeroZen - very cool find … i'll be interested to see what you come up with - i don't see a need for it for my projects - looks like the screen protector i got for my Surface Pro which fractured when i tried to apply it …

however i'm designing a new heater using borosilicate capillary tubes - searched one time on Alibaba and now I'm being chased by ads all over the web … i think it could deliver much more (2x or 3x) heated air than my current heater, but the same size @ 1/2" dia by 2" long.

 

[KeroZen]

But in your current cube design don't you already have a hefty boro test tube inside your heater coil? (the port where you insert your vial)

The idea would be possibly to replace that tube with a much thinner rolled sheet. It would have less mass so faster heat-up time, also less lag between heater and load temperature, and above all, very less likely to break in case you drop your cube.

Of course the problem in your case would be to find a way to have such rolled tube air tight at the bottom... I don't have any ready-made solution for that. And I wouldn't want that you add any silicone in your air path, that would be a regression clearly...

On the other hand I think it could be worth a try for the Splinter or the Milaana as it's unfortunately quite easy to break the female GonG. A single drop with the stem inserted can be enough.

 

[Hippie Dickie]

don't you already have a hefty boro test tube inside your heater coil … so faster heat-up time, also less lag between heater and load temperature

yes on the test tube (1mm wall thickness, 15mm outside dia) … i am hitting >400F in 10 seconds - measuring the outside of this tube … the PID and 70 amp cells can easily keep up with incoming ambient air trying to cool the tube - simply can not cool it … however the air can come in too fast and not pick up enough heat from the inside surface of the tube … i look for the thermodynamics equations to explain heat transfer to air across a hot surface (in a fixed volume) and have not been successful … my intuition is that more surface area will heat more incoming air (faster rate) - thus the capillary tubes idea: open on the bottom, straight through air path, hold it up to the bowl of a bong and hit it … PID temp control, of course.

very less likely to break in case you drop your cube

Aha! the heater ribbon functions as a shock mount for the tube - which can rest against two stainless steel #2 screws at the bottom when pushed on - as a physical stop, but otherwise is free floating.

rolling the sheet into a tube is an extra manufacturing step, whereas the tube is ready to go - trying to think through getting some production going.