Glass Beads

Beads are perhaps one of mankind's oldest forms of art and technology, which date back to nearly 30,000 years. Glass beads are part of this culture and have been known to exist since Roman times. The oldest known form of glass beads were Egyptian faience beads, which were made from clay that formed a vitreous coating. Nowadays, these glass beads have become increasingly popular as fashion accessories amongst fashion enthusiasts. Glass beads can be categorized on the basis of the technique used for manufacturing them. There are three main categories of glass beads, namely wound beads, drawn beads, and molded beads. There are also composite beads such as millefiori beads, made up of a drawn glass cane applied to a wound glass core. Wound beads were made using the winding method wherein the glass would first be heated to a temperature high enough to make the glass ductile. The ductile glass is then wound around a metal wire or mandrel; the wire is treated with a compound called 'bead release', which prevents the bead from sticking to it. There are numerous ways of manufacturing drawn beads; however, they would all involve the basic process of pulling out a strand of glass in such a way that a bubble is formed in the center of the bead that would serve as a hole. Molded beads are manufactured using a thick rod that is molten and then fed into a rube goldbergian contraption that stamp the glass during which a needle simultaneously pierces a hole. The beads are then rolled in hot sand to remove flashing and also soften seam lines. These beads can have elaborate patterns. They can be mass produced as a single feed of hot rod that could result in the production of nearly 10-20 beads, making the entire process cost effective.