PRE-DEFORMING SUPPORT STRUCTURE WORKPIECES FOR SUPPORT STRUCTURES OF VACUUM INSULATING GLASS UNITS

The present disclosure relates to a method of producing a vacuum insulated glass (VIG) unit (1), wherein said method comprises: providing a plurality of support structures (5) comprising contact surfaces (5a, 5b), distributing the provided support structures (5) at a first glass sheet (3) so that one of said contact surfaces (5a, 5b) supports on a first major surface (3a) of the first glass sheet (3), arranging a second glass sheet (4) so that the distributed support structures (5) are placed in a gap (6) between the first major surface (3a) and a second major surface (4a) of the second glass sheet (4), providing an edge seal (7) arranged around the periphery of the glass sheets (3, 4), and evacuating and sealing said gap (6). The providing of the plurality of support structures comprises the steps of feeding support structure workpieces (10) to a deformation unit (20), and shaping support structures (5) by deforming the fed support structure workpieces (10) by means of the deformation unit (20) so as to provide support structures (5) comprising said contact surfaces (5a, 5b).