Why Glass Used in Window?

Glass is certainly an extremely sought-after options for construction and building materials due to its numerous design options and its superior performance.

Today , more than ever before designers, builders and designers have many options of premium glass. When you select glass for your construction or remodel you can have the chance to make a project more attractive, stronger and more sophisticated.

What typically ends up being huge, sprawling panels in health facilities, high-rise structures and commercial establishments, schools and various other construction projects starts with the sands limestone, soda ash, limestone dolomite, and other raw materials, which are then heated to form the flat strip of glass that has the best transparency, light transmission as well as strength and durability for processing and fabrication.

In a sequence of steps, watch the production of float glass unfold from raw materials coming into the line on one side to the glass plates forming and being cut precisely at the other end.

Step 1: Refining and Melting

Float glass is an amalgamation of silica sand as well as other basic materials. Continuously monitored and controlled to ensure high-quality, these fine-grained components are mixed and then made into the glass into molten pieces.

Multiple processes simultaneously occur in the 2000 tonnes of glass molten within the furnace for melting. It's a lot like brick ovens of the past, only significantly larger.

• Melting: The weighed amount of the raw material melts around 1500 degrees Celsius through a combination of heated air pre-heated and natural gas jet streams. This combination creates torch-like flames that melt the materials in just a few minutes.
• Refining: The molten elements are then homogenized and gas bubbles are eliminated when the glass is moved through the canal.
• Control of temperature: The glass that is molten has been sufficiently chilled to allow it to draw it into what is referred to as the Tin flotation bath.

These processes happen in separate areas and take as long as 50 hours before the bubble-free and non-inclusion-free glass is delivered smoothly in a temperature of 1100° Celsius in the furnace before being transferred to the floating bath.

This is the stage that is most important as it holds the most crucial factor in the quality of the product. Also, it is during this phase that the glass composition is able to be altered in order to modify the properties of the final product.

Step 2. Tin Float Bath

The liquid glass flows through an edifice and then floats on the mirror-like surface of a small pool of molten tin that is approximately 1000 ° Celsius. The glass is extremely viscous in this stage therefore it is unable to mix to the liquid tin making a thin piece of glass.

Its uniform thickness can be controlled by decreasing or increasing the rate at which the glass is spread and its width is controlled by the edge rollers of the machine. The glass ribbon goes out of the float tank around 600 ° Celsius.

Although the basic principle behind floating glass has remained same over the years but the final product hasn't. From a glass that is often contaminated by bubbles, to one that is perfect in optical quality and from providing an even thickness to creating a range of thicknesses that vary from sub-millimeter to 25mm, the current floating glass process has definitely advanced.

Step 3: Annealing

This ribbon moves and then solidifies slowly inside the annealing chamber.

During the process of cooling, there is a possibility of forming significant stresses within the glass. If excessive stress is created, the glass will crack under the cutting. To prevent the stress from building up the glass goes through a tunnel for heat treatment called the Lehr. In this chamber, it is carefully managed and gradually decreased to around 250 degrees Celsius to create annealed glass.

After it has emerged from the lehr that is enclosed the ribbon is chilled and then hardened by the force of air prior to being inspected.

Step 4: Quality Inspection

To ensure the highest quality, scanning equipment examines the glass's hardened ribbon to detect any flaws.

The float process is known for creating perfect glasses, there can be some instances when a bubble or an inclusion might be missed in the refining process or a grain of sand could have been unable to melt or a shake in the float bath could result in ripples on the ribbon. With the help of quality inspections on-line, the flaws are identified and then discarded.

Phase 5: Cut and Lifting Off

When the ribbon is moving across the conveyor rolls its edges are cut by diamond wheels. The glass is cut precisely according to the specifications of the customer, at a rate up to 6000 tonnes per week. The glass sheets that are cut automatically are then removed by robotic arms before being stacked into cases, racks, or boxes that are ready to be coated or shipped to clients.

Float glass is usually sold by the square meter. Computers translate customer specifications into an automated cutter which cut the glass ribbon into patterns that are specifically designed to cut down on waste.

Step 6: Coating

This is the point at which various coatings that enhance the solar and thermal performance of glass can be put on. Certain manufacturers apply coatings to the glass at the beginning stage of the float process however, coatings are usually applied after the glass is cut precisely.

Manufacturers employ a sophisticated high-temperature process known as on-line chemical Vapour Deposition or CVD, to apply thin coatings of various microns on the final product, causing significant changes in the optical properties of the product.

Step 7: Dispatching

Once the coatings are all applied After multiple coatings are applied, the glass is loaded onto trucks ready for delivery. The final phase of the manufacturing process for floats involves loading glass panes in cases onto vehicles or into open-top containers, and then sending the orders to the buyer.

Author: Based in Perth, Western Australia, Com-Al Windows specialize in the design, manufacture and installation of Commercial Glass in Perth