Glassblowing Unit

• Custom made
• Store
• Manufacturing
• Repairs
• Odds and ends
• Contacts

The Glassblowing Unit comprises an on-campus workshop for the manufacture of scientific glassware and a retail store of standard laboratory glassware.

We are part of the Division of Sciences, and supply glassware across the university as well as to external clients. The unit is staffed by two scientific glassblowers each with more than 20 years of experience, Anne Ryan working full time and Greg Kerr, part time.

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Custom made glassware

We specialise in design, fabrication, modification and repair of prototype and laboratory glassware and happily tackle a wide variety of custom work.

We are skilled in the manipulation of soft, borosilicate and quartz glass, glass to metal seals, and flat glass work, using bench lamps, hand-lamps, lathes, and cold working equipment.

We are able to design and manufacture glassware from one-off prototype to multiple sets, working from detailed specifications and have an archive of drawings that can be used as a starting point for new designs.

Historically, we have most experience in the biomedical sciences and have created a large number of diffusion cells, artificial gut baths, double walled vessels, Ussing chambers, perfusion apparatus, cyanobacteria flasks, and filtration sets.

We will work to your time constraints, and attend to your work as soon as possible.

We also produce ear suction tubes for ENT specialists in New Zealand and Australia. Ear suction tube specifications and prices.

View some of our previous custom work

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On-site laboratory glassware store

We have a comprehensive range of standard laboratory glassware and sell both individual items and packs. Products are of good quality and prices are competitive. For a complete list of standard stock available view the spreadsheet.

If you have any queries or require a price list send us an Email: anne.ryan@otago.ac.nz.

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Standard manufactured laboratory glass

We can manufacture, modify or repair any catalogued laboratory glassware and make either single items or complete systems.

Examples of glassware routinely made are:

• Jointed round flasks
• Expansion and reduction adaptors
• Liebig condensers
• Double-walled condensers
• Soxhlet extractors
• Separating funnels
• Sintered columns
• Baffled flasks
• Gooch crucibles

We maintain a large stock of glass components in the manufacture of laboratory glassware:

• Borosilicate tubing - 1mm diameter to 180mm
• Borosilicate rod - 1 mm to 18mm
• Soda tubing
• Quartz rod and tubing
• standard conical taper joints
• Screw thread tubes, caps and washers
• Sintered discs
• Stopcocks, all glass and teflon+glass
• Boiling flask blanks
• Evaporating flask blanks
• Stirrer glands

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Repairs

The repair of scientific glassware can be either straightforward or extremely complicated. It can be complete waste of time or an exceptional cost saver.

In general we make decisions on repairs based on financial viability - repairing more complicated pieces can result in very significant savings.

We request that pieces sent for repair be clean if possible; if not we need to be informed of all the contaminates. Vapours produced at high working temperatures can be very hazardous.

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Odds and ends

• We can unstick stuck stopcock keys and stuck conical joints.
• We have a fume cupboard and can acid-clean your water still.
• Our oven runs up to 570deg every night; some departments use this to sterilise their distilled water reservoir bottles.
• We have a large stock of old glassware and may be able to replace a piece of equipment, replace stopcock keys etc.
• We have decals - ceramic transfers including lines, numbers and letters for permanent marking on glass.
• We have plastic/chemical compatibility charts.
• We offer our services to wood turners, car enthusiasts, jewellers, design students, students doing science projects etc.

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Contacts

For orders and enquiries

Where to find us

Come and visit during Open Hours: 9.30am to 5.00pm – Monday to Friday.

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