The process vocabulary of a drinkware factory: forming and welding a stainless vacuum bottle, how the vacuum is made and tested, lids and plastic parts, glass, food-contact standards, and custom branding.
Chinese sorts drinkware by shape before material. 杯 (bēi) is anything you drink from, so a vacuum bottle is a 保温杯 (bǎowēnbēi, "keep-warm cup") or 真空杯 even when it has a narrow mouth; 瓶 (píng) suggests a narrower neck, as in 水瓶 or 运动水壶 (yùndòng shuǐhú, sports bottle). In a factory the product is named by its parts, and a quote or a complaint is always about one of them, so learn the anatomy first. The general factory vocabulary (samples, molds, tolerances, defects, packing) is on the factory-words page; this page is the drinkware-specific layer.
一个保温杯 yí ge bǎowēnbēi · Anatomy of a Vacuum Bottle杯身 bēishēn → the body 内胆 nèidǎn → inner liner, the wall that touches the drink 外壳 wàiké → outer shell 杯口 / 瓶口 bēikǒu / píngkǒu → the mouth; 宽口 wide, 窄口 narrow 螺纹 luówén → the thread; 外螺纹 external, 内螺纹 internal 杯盖 bēigài → the lid; 内盖 inner stopper, 外盖 outer cap 密封圈 mìfēngquān → the seal ring, usually silicone 杯底 / 底盖 bēidǐ / dǐgài → the base and its cover, which hides the vacuum seal point 提手 tíshǒu → handle or carry loop
容量róngliàngcapacity
Two numbers can be meant: 标称容量 (biāochēng, nominal, the number on the box) and 满口容量 (mǎnkǒu, filled to the brim). Ask which one a drawing or quote uses. 克重 (kèzhòng) is the weight in grams.
不锈钢杯的工序 bùxiùgāng bēi de gōngxù · The Stainless Line, in Order下料 xiàliào → cut the blank from sheet (板材) or tube (管材) 拉伸 lāshēn → deep-draw a cup shape from sheet 旋压 xuányā → spin-form the shoulder and neck 水胀 shuǐzhàng → hydroform: shape the body outward with water pressure 缩口 suōkǒu → neck down the mouth 滚牙 gǔnyá → roll the thread 焊接 hànjiē → weld liner and shell together at the mouth, and weld on the bases 抽真空 chōu zhēnkōng → evacuate the gap between the walls 测温 cèwēn → screen every unit for insulation 电解 / 抛光 diànjiě / pāoguāng → electropolish the liner, polish the shell 喷涂 pēntú → coat the outside, then print the logo 组装 / 包装 zǔzhuāng / bāozhuāng → assemble lids and pack
管材guǎncáitube stock
Bodies are made either from welded tube (管材, cut to length) or drawn from sheet (板材 bǎncái). Tube needs a lengthwise seam weld; a drawn body has no side seam. Both work; the question is how the seam is finished and checked.
Is the liner made from tube or drawn from sheet? Is there a lengthwise weld seam?
激光焊jīguānghànlaser welding
The usual way to join liner and shell at the mouth; 氩弧焊 (yàhúhàn, TIG welding) is the older method. 焊缝 (hànfèng) is the weld seam. A weld that is not fully sealed (焊不牢 or 虚焊 xūhàn, a false weld) lets air back in and the bottle loses its insulation weeks later.
Is the mouth laser-welded? How are the seams checked?
电解diànjiěelectropolishing
Smooths the inside of the liner so it cleans easily and resists staining and odour. Ask whether every liner is electropolished or only polished mechanically.
内胆都做电解处理吗？
Nèidǎn dōu zuò diànjiě chǔlǐ ma?
Are all the liners electropolished?
真空zhēnkōngThe Vacuum
无尾真空 wúwěi zhēnkōng · Sealing Without a Tail
The insulation is the empty space between the two walls. Older bottles were evacuated through a small tube at the base, then pinched and sealed, leaving a "tail" (尾巴 wěiba). Most current production is 无尾 (wúwěi, tailless): bottles go base-down into a vacuum furnace (真空炉 zhēnkōnglú) with a solder pellet (钎料 qiānliào, or 焊料) over a hole in the base; the furnace draws out the air, then melts the solder to seal the hole, which is why 抽真空 is also called 真空钎焊 (zhēnkōng qiānhàn, vacuum brazing). A getter (吸气剂 xīqìjì) inside the gap absorbs gas that seeps out of the steel over time. Many factories also copper-plate the liner's outer surface (镀铜 dùtóng) to cut radiant heat loss. A vacuum that fails shows up as a bottle whose outside gets warm, 不保温 or 漏气 (lòuqì, leaking air).
测温cèwēntemperature screening
After vacuuming, each bottle is filled with hot water and its outer wall checked by hand or infrared (红外 hóngwài) to catch failed vacuums. It catches gross failures on the day, not slow leaks, which is why a sample is also held for a longer test (放置 fàngzhì, left to stand) before shipment.
Is temperature screening done on every unit or sampled? Do you test again after letting them stand a few days?
镀铜dùtóngcopper plating
On the outside of the liner, inside the vacuum gap, where it reflects heat. It never touches the drink. Ask whether it is used, since it changes insulation performance at the same wall thickness.
Is the liner's outer wall copper-plated? How much difference does it make to insulation?
保温效果bǎowēn xiàoguǒinsulation performance
The Chinese national standard for stainless vacuum cups, GB/T 29606, defines a test with water at 95°C measured after a set number of hours. Specify the conditions when you compare claims: starting temperature, fill level, lid on, room temperature, hours.
You say it keeps warm for twelve hours. Was that tested to the national standard? What were the starting water temperature and the room temperature?
杯盖bēigàiLids, Seals, Plastic Parts
杯盖bēigàilid
Most leaks and most complaints are in the lid, not the steel. Types: 螺旋盖 (screw cap), 弹跳盖 (tántiào gài, flip or push-button lid), 吸管盖 (xīguǎn gài, straw lid), 茶隔 (chágé, tea strainer). Each moving part is another seal to test.
How many presses is the flip-lid button rated for? Has it had a lifespan test?
塑料sùliàoplastic
PP (聚丙烯 jùbǐngxī) is the common, cheap lid plastic. Tritan (said as the English name) is a clear, rigid copolyester marketed as 不含双酚A (bù hán shuāngfēn A, BPA-free). Ask for the resin supplier's certificate, since "Tritan" on a quote can mean something else in the part.
Is this lid PP or Tritan? Can you provide proof of the raw material?
注塑缺陷zhùsù quēxiàninjection-molding defects
缩水 (suōshuǐ) sink marks, 飞边 (fēibiān) flash, 熔接线 (róngjiēxiàn) weld lines, 浇口 (jiāokǒu) the gate mark where plastic entered, 气纹 flow marks. Name them precisely in a complaint.
There's flash on the lid edge. Could the gate be moved to the inside?
玻璃bōliGlass Bottles
吹制chuīzhìblown (by hand or mouth)
Borosilicate bottles are either 人工吹制 (hand-blown) or 机制 (jīzhì, machine-made). Hand-blown pieces vary more in wall thickness and weight; machine-made are more consistent and cheaper at volume.
Is this one hand-blown or machine-made? What is the wall thickness tolerance?
退火tuìhuǒannealing
Slow controlled cooling that removes internal stress. Poor annealing is a cause of bottles cracking under temperature changes later. 应力 (yìnglì) is stress; a 应力仪 (stress viewer) shows it as coloured bands.
After annealing, do you check with a stress viewer?
气泡qìpàobubble (in glass)
With 结石 (jiéshí, stones, unmelted particles) and 冷纹 (lěngwén, cold marks), the visual defects to agree limits for, by size and number per piece.
气泡大于零点五毫米的算不良。
Qìpào dàyú líng diǎn wǔ háomǐ de suàn bùliáng.
Bubbles larger than 0.5 mm count as defects.
测试cèshìTesting and Food Safety
食品级的证据 shípǐnjí de zhèngjù · Proof of Food Grade
食品级 (food grade) is a claim, and the evidence for it is a migration test: a lab fills the part with food simulants and measures what comes out (迁移 qiānyí, migration), including heavy metals (重金属 zhòngjīnshǔ). China's food-contact standards are the GB 4806 series, with separate parts for metals, plastics, rubber, and glass; export markets add FDA (US) and LFGB (Germany). Ask for a report that names your material and your coating, is recent, and comes from an accredited lab. Steel grade is a separate check: a magnet cannot reliably tell 304 from cheaper 201, so ask for a 光谱仪 (guāngpǔyí, spectrometer) reading, which shows nickel and, for 316, molybdenum (钼 mù).
光谱仪guāngpǔyíspectrometer
A handheld analyser gives a material reading in seconds on the floor. Ask to see it on a liner from your own production.
How many dishwasher cycles can the coating survive?
装满热水倒置四个小时，不能漏。
Zhuāngmǎn rèshuǐ dàozhì sì ge xiǎoshí, bù néng lòu.
Filled with hot water and held upside down for four hours, it must not leak.
定制dìngzhìCustom Branding
定制dìngzhìto customise
Logo methods for drinkware: 丝印 (screen print), 移印 (yíyìn, pad print, for curved small areas), 镭雕 (laser engraving), 热转印 (rèzhuǎnyìn, heat transfer, for full-colour wraps), 水转印 (water transfer). Each has its own MOQ and wear resistance.