Thanks to its heat resistance, durability and valency, opaline glass is particularly suitable as a means of organisation for the safe storage of small products, medical devices or absorbent cotton products. Increasing regulatory requirements and the pressure to achieve greater efficiency in dental practices have brought forth a new generation of autoclaves that facilitate the preparation of the devices in even shorter cycles. This means that modern opaline products are exposed to substantial temperature changes in the heating-up and, in particular, the subsequent cooling-down process which, being iterative, strain opaline glass’s thermal properties to their very limits. In order to comply with these increased product requirements in the long term, the Würzburg-based silicate research institute Fraunhofer-Institut für Silicatforschung ISC, commissioned by Alfred Becht GmbH, has modified the previous composition of the opaline glass product line in such a way that the glass products can have an even higher tolerance level vis-à-vis quick changesin the temperature. This concerns the temperature spectrum between room temperature and 150 °C. Subsequently the Fraunhofer-Institut also supported the implementation from a production-technologystandpoint. Thanks to the skilful selection of input materials and the redefinition of the melting and cooling curve, a balance was found between desired and undesired effects regarding the physical properties of the glasses.

All of Alfred Becht GmbH’s opaline glasproducts are nowmanufactured using the new glass mixture formula and thus comply with the prevailing requirements of safe storage for medical devices and other products. They can still be used without any restrictions in thermo-disinfectors and autoclaves.