Container-Glass Filling-Line & Structural-Resistance Analysis: An Holistic View

When Bottles Break, Physics Talks — and EmpakGlass Listens

Every crack has a cause.

Maybe the glass has a weakness.

Maybe the filling line pushed a little too hard.

Or maybe… it’s a mix of both.

At EmpakGlass, we combine container glass filling-line analysis with finite element analysis (FEA) to reveal exactly why bottles fail — and how to stop it from happening again.

From Concept to Crash: Understanding the Loads at Play

A glass container faces a gauntlet of challenges before it reaches the shelf:

• ⚙️ Impact loads from high-speed conveyors.

• 🧢 Vertical loads during capping and stacking.

• 🌡️ Eventual Internal pressure buildup during pasteurisation, carbonation, transport or storage (full and empty).

  
  

Each one tests the container’s design, strength, and uniformity.

Push one factor beyond its limit — or add a small defect — and the result is the familiar sound of breakage and lost productivity.

Where FEA Makes the Invisible, Visible

Through FEA simulations, we model every stress and strain a container endures: impact, compression, and pressure.

That lets us pinpoint:

• Hidden stress concentrations that predict breakage zones.

• The effect of thickness distribution and geometry.

• How line speed and capping forces influence real-world performance.

Once you see the stress map, the story becomes clear — and so does the solution.

The Three Big Culprits Behind Breakages

1. Design Weakness – Lightweighting or geometry that can’t handle the load.

2. Glass Defects / Thickness Variations – Microscopic flaws or uneven/low thickness amplifying stress.

3. Filling-Line Conditions – Speeds or forces exceeding safe thresholds, pushing bottles past their limit.

More often than not, it’s a combination of all three.

🧩 Our approach

When a customer faces bottle breakages, here’s how we crack the case:

1. Collect evidence – design specs, wall thickness maps, line data.

2. Simulate with FEA – test vertical loads, impacts, and internal pressure.

3. Inspect the glass – locate defects, inclusions, or uneven zones.

4. Audit the line – measure real impacts and forces using dummies that collect the forces/temperatures that the containers will withstand

5. Correlate & conclude – identify the real root cause and fix it.

   
   

It’s science, experience, and engineering — working together.

This is the "Bread and Butter" for EmpakGlass

Whether we’re troubleshooting breakages on a filling line or creating a new container concept from scratch, this is our bread and butter.

EmpakGlass lives and breathes container performance — from design and simulation to production and filling-line optimisation.

We don’t just find the cause. We want to design the solution.

Final Thought

Breakages aren’t random. They’re the voice of the system telling you something’s off.

At EmpakGlass, we translate that message into action — stronger bottles, faster lines, and fewer headaches.

We look forward to new challenges and to continuing our mission of finding smart, effective solutions for the Glass Industry!

💪#Empakglass #Ennionstudio #GlassFEA #GlassForming #MouldDesign #GlassIndustry #ShopfloorTraining #GlassPackaging #ParisonDesign #FillingLineAnalysis #GlassPackaging #Sustainability

Would you like to know more?

Contact directly:

Portugal Office (Lisbon):

Phone: +351 218 079 529

e-mail: management@empakglass.com

Bulgaria Office (Plovdiv):

Phone: +359 898803090

e-mail: office@empaksolutions.com

India Office (Hyderabad):

Phone: (+91) 9440352525

e-mail: in.sales@empakglass.com

Or for trainings:

If you need more detailed information on the fees, dates and target audience, contact Empakglass through: training@empakglass.com or management@empakglass.com

These are seminars developed by professionals to professionals, on the glass packaging industry and industries that also contact with glass as a packaging material.

From Europe to the USA — EmpakGlass on the Ground Improving Glass Production Efficiency

Here’s two of our own — Yordan Paskulov and Bogoia Chalamov, Empak's Service Production Engineers, just back home after two intense weeks onsite in the USA.

The mission?

To support our Glass Plant Partner in optimising production efficiency — fine-tuning processes, balancing forming parameters, and making sure every bottle leaving that IS machine meets top-tier quality standards.

Hands-On Engineering, Real Results

At EmpakGlass, we don’t just design from a distance. We roll up our sleeves, hit the shop floor, and work side-by-side with our clients.

Our Service Production Engineers bring deep know-how in:

• Process troubleshooting and forming parameter optimisation,

• Quality control and hot-end efficiency audits,

• IS machine setup and training for line operators,

• Coordination between design intent and production performance.

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When we say we support “from concept to container,” this is exactly what we mean.

A Small World in the Glass Industry

Here’s a fun fact from Yordan’s trip — the filler handling those very bottles is also a direct EmpakGlass client.It’s a perfect example of how interconnected the container glass world really is.Design, production, and filling — all linked through collaboration and expertise.

EmpakGlass sits right at the heart of it, connecting the dots and raising the bar across the entire value chain.

“Let’s Make Glass Great Again”

Our mission doesn’t stop at borders. Whether it’s a production line in Europe, a forming plant in the U.S., or a filler in Asia — Empak brings global expertise, passion and precision to every project.

We look forward to new challenges and to continuing our mission of finding smart, effective solutions for the Glass Industry!

💪#Empakglass #Ennionstudio #GlassFEA #GlassForming #MouldDesign #GlassIndustry #ShopfloorTraining #GlassPackaging #ParisonDesign #MakeInIndia

Would you like to know more?

Contact directly:

Portugal Office (Lisbon):

Phone: +351 218 079 529

e-mail: management@empakglass.com

Bulgaria Office (Plovdiv):

Phone: +359 898803090

e-mail: office@empaksolutions.com

India Office (Hyderabad):

Phone: (+91) 9440352525

e-mail: in.sales@empakglass.com

Or for trainings:

If you need more detailed information on the fees, dates and target audience, contact Empakglass through: training@empakglass.com or management@empakglass.com

These are seminars developed by professionals to professionals, on the glass packaging industry and industries that also contact with glass as a packaging material.

Product Development & Mould Design Seminar at Encirc, Derrylin

Following the seminar held for Encirc in Chester last October, it was time for a new edition, this time at the Derrylin plant in Northern Ireland, with a stronger focus on Product and Mould Design.

@ENNIONSTUDIO led the sessions on conceptual design, container requirements, and how to translate them into production-ready glass containers, while @Empakglass focused on bringing those concepts to life through their expertise in production processes and tool development.

The training covered a wide range of key topics, including:

🔹 The roadmap for container conceptual design and key requirements

🔹 Principles of production-ready container design and lightweighting

🔹 Fundamentals of mould design and performance

🔹 Practical applications and optimization strategies

🔹 Parison design for all forming processes: Blow & Blow (B&B), Narrow Neck Press & Blow (NNPB), and Wide Mouth Press & Blow

It was fascinating to apply real-world cases to the guidelines, correlate them with IS timings, and even troubleshoot potential glass defects.

This hands-on approach helps glass plants start production from a stronger foundation, reduce defects, anticipate critical issues, and ultimately shorten time to market, while also strengthening communication between departments within the plant.

A huge thank-you to all participants for their passion and engagement, which showcases the qualities that make Product Development and Mould Design such vital parts of the glass industry supply chain.

We look forward to new challenges and to continuing our mission of finding smart, effective solutions for the Glass Industry!

💪#Empakglass #Ennionstudio #GlassFEA #GlassForming #MouldDesign #GlassIndustry #ShopfloorTraining #GlassPackaging #ParisonDesign #MakeInIndia

Would you like to know more?

Contact directly:

Portugal Office (Lisbon):

Phone: +351 218 079 529

e-mail: management@empakglass.com

Bulgaria Office (Plovdiv):

Phone: +359 898803090

e-mail: office@empaksolutions.com

India Office (Hyderabad):

Phone: (+91) 9440352525

e-mail: in.sales@empakglass.com

Or for trainings:

If you need more detailed information on the fees, dates and target audience, contact Empakglass through: training@empakglass.com or management@empakglass.com

These are seminars developed by professionals to professionals, on the glass packaging industry and industries that also contact with glass as a packaging material.