Bunyip, I agree about liability being a "factor" in annealing schedules. Fortunately the science behind annealing has been well researched and we have a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips. That being said, I make adult toys and I am overly conservative with my annealing schedule.
All things being equal, you should be able to put a glass piece that has thickness "x" into your kiln and anneal it for time "Y" and bring it down below strain point at "Z" degrees per hour and it will always be perfectly annealed.
However all things are not equal, the kilns I use are amazing and very high quality but I doubt they would pass as scientifically accurate instruments. I take care to ensure that my annealing schedule has a "buffer zone" so to speak and err on the side of caution.
Also, although I do not have cracking issues with sparkle colors etc, I do not use those colors in the adult toys I make. I also check each one in a polariscope and that is something I don't do with my pendants. So safety and liability can effect the manufacturing process as a whole really.
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