LIGHT SOURCES IN GLASS Alsigns-Surelite Limited produces a range of self-luminous fail-safe lighting (energy-free cold light sources with a twenty-five year life requiring no maintenance) on a custom-made basis, in glass tubing, to order. The glass light sources are manufactured in whatever size dimensions [O/D x length], pressures and shapes a customer requires, in volumes extending from hundreds to hundreds of thousands. For example, all known types of aircraft self-powered lighting artefacts are made, together with any improvements, adaptations or innovations in them. To be precise, we start from 2.0mm O/D x 5.8mm length, shaped round (for cylindrical tubes) or square (for rectangular tubes), right up to 10mm [1cm] O/D x 110mm [11cm] long tubes. |
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Over the twenty years of our existence, Alsigns-Surelite Limited has engaged
in a personal made-to-order service which has embraced the forming of:
All of our lights are hand-made by fully skilled glassblowers and, if required, are made to tolerances of 0.5mm. If you have an application that requires a low level light source, contact Alsigns-Surelite to discuss your particular needs. |
_ __ ___ Click for glass tube specification data page ___ __ _
Round Tubes | ||||||||||||||||
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Cylindrical in cross-section, these are the mainstay of the hydrogen light source industry. Used in situations where the tube itself is not on display, eg. to back-light signs.
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Click on image to enlarge | Available in a variety of colours |
Square Tubes | ||||||||||||||||
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Square in cross-section, they offer extra advantages over round ones. The internal volume (and thus light output) are higher than for a round tube of an equal size diameter.
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Click on image to enlarge | Available in a variety of colours |
Rectangular Tubes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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with pip | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rectangular in cross-section, these provide luminous areas using reduced height. The maximum ratio of width to height is 5:1, and above a 3:1 ratio the filling pressure is reduced below 1000 millibars for safety to avoid a burst risk. This reduces maximum brightness, but still offers advantages for certain design situations (eg. backlighting).
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Click on image to enlarge | A range of other sizes is available |
Flat-Ended Tubes (i.e. without pip) | ||
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Round, Square or Rectangular | ||
Similar to pip-ended tubes (above), but with double flat-end tube closure and consequently slightly more expensive to manufacture. Used in situations and applications where the tube itself is set to be directly visible and so must be of "display quality", eg. watch dials. |
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Click on image to enlarge | For sizes see pip-ended tubes (above) | Click on image to enlarge |
Arc-Shaped Tubes | ||
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Round, Square or Rectangular | ||
Typically used to illustrate graticules in reticles. Usually, two 180° sources are used on the circumference of the reticle. Forming the glass arcs with the required precision requires special tools.
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Click on image to enlarge | Simply contact Alsigns-Surelite to discuss your configuration requirements | Click on image to enlarge |