The basic purpose that a glass overhead assembly solves in any industry is that it is used for reactions under reflux and distillation. To complete a glass overhead assembly, there are more than a few products that need to come together. The most important component is a cylindrical or spherical feed vessel that is used to add liquid reactants in a controlled manner to start the process. From the cylindrical glass vessels we move to a vapour column that is either packed or hollow in nature. The next product in the assembly line is the primary condenser, the first of two condensers used in the process. It is a type of a glass heat exchanger while the second condenser is used as a vent in the overhead assembly.

From the two condensers we move to a product cooler which acts as a cooling distillate in the process after which come the phase separators, used for multi-component distillation. The glass overhead assembly also has distillate receivers which ensure continuous operation of the assembly and the designing of the glass overhead assembly is made in such a way that it has complete hydraulic integrity and is a multi-utility assembly line.