GLASS FOR WINDOWS These include clear and toned float glass, together with wired and decorative glasses and, of course, mirror. Among the specialised glasses for both the domestic and commercial sectors are laminated, toughened and ‘high performance’ architectural glasses                                                                                                                                                      Glass is made of many different ingredients, however the major component in the mixture is sand. The materials used will vary depending upon what type and color of glass you want to make. A brief history of glass can be found at: http://cornucopia-of-colors.com/history.html and www.glassonline.com/history.html and www.londoncrownglass.co.uk/History.html

TOUGHENED GLASS What is toughened glass? The first reliable manufacture of toughened glass took place in 1928 in France. 1. Toughened glass is up to five times stronger than ordinary glass. 2. If toughened glass does break it will fracture into relatively small harmless pieces as shown in photograph below. 3. Toughened glass can resist thermal stress. Once toughened the glass can be subjected to temperatures from -70°C to +290°C without breakage Toughened glass is ideal for any situation where severe temperatures, vibration or human impact might occur. Toughened glass cannot be cut, drilled or edgeworked in any way, it is therefore important to ensure the sizes ordered are correct. If a template is required it should be full size and cut out of rigid material. Otherwise accurate and detailed diagrams are essential. Toughening is obtained by re-heating the glass article uniformly to a temperature just above that at which deformation could take place and then rapidly cooling the surfaces by jets of air. If one can imagine a sheet of glass as consisting of 3 layers then the process becomes easier to understand. Further information can be obtained at: http://www.britglass.co.uk/publications/mglass/making6.html

LAMINATED GLASS G. James Glass THE MOST COMMON THICKNESS FOR LAMINATED GLASS IS 6.38MM Laminated Glass is a grade 'A' safety glass which, because of its breaking characteristics is used where penetration resistance is required. I:E       Rooflights   -  To stop objects falling through glass.                        Doors         -  To stop people travelling through glass after                                   impact, risking serious injury.            Full height            Windows    -  Where the glass if penetrated, would result in                                       someone falling greater than 1.0 m.            Ordinary glass, when broken, shatters into shards and splinters with razor sharp edges.  These razor-like edges pose a serious threat of injury to your family, especially young children. However, when laminated glass is broken, the fragments are retained in place by the interlayer, which dramatically reduces the risk of injury from broken glass, falling glass or penetration of glass.  Laminated glass represents safety glass that has been manufactured by adhering two or more sheets of glass together with a flexible interlayer. It is manufactured by two alternate processes - PVB laminate or CIP laminate. PVB laminate is produced through a heat and pressure process in stock sizes for further cutting and processing. The PVB interlayer is .38mm thick. By using a tinted interlayer, laminated glass can be used to reduce heat transmission. LIQUID POUR OR CAST IN PLACE (CIP) LAMINATED GLASS An alternative form of manufacturing laminated safety glass involves pouring a resin into the cavity between two sheets of glass. The resin cures to produce a Grade A safety glass. Liquid pour or CIP (cast in place) is manufactured with a 6mm or 4mm white butyl strip tape around the perimeter which must be removed if edges are exposed  G. James Glass Download the glass handbook from G JAMES GLASS

FLOAT GLASS Clear glass is the most common glass used in windows. For windows it ranges in thickness from 2.5mm to 5mm. Toughened and safety glass’s are thicker The float glass process is the most common method of flat glass production in the world. This process involves pouring recycled glass, silica sand, lime, potash and soda from a furnace onto a large bed of molten tin. This mixture slowly solidifies over the molten tin as it enters the annealing oven where it travels along rollers under a controlled cooling process. From this point the glass emerges in one continuous long ribbon where it is then cut and further processed to customer specification. Pilkington ACI

PATTERNED GLASS PUSH THE BUTTON FOR OTHER PATTERNS                                                                                                 Patterned or figure rolled glass is made by running molten glass over a patterned roller which reproduces the pattern on the glass. Figured roll glass is used to diffuse, not obscure, an object when viewing. The glass is also used as a popular decorative product. PUSH THE BUTTON FOR OTHER PATTERNS

WIRED GLASS USED MAINLY FOR SAFETY AND SECURITY Flat rolled glass reinforced with wire mesh and used especially for glass doors and roofing to prevent objects from smashing through the glass and also to hold pieces of broken glass together. By holding the glass together, it can also protect against break-in and the spreading of fire. Wired glass is produced by continuously feeding wire mesh from a roller into the molten glass ribbon just before it undergoes cooling. (See also "Boudin process", "Pilkington double-pass wired glass process").

COLOURED GLASS Coloured Glass Glass is colored by                                                                                            Coloured Glass Glass is colored by (1) impurities in the batch ingredients, or (2) by one of three processes: using a dissolved metallic oxide to impart a color throughout b. forming a dispersion of some substance in a colloidal state, and c. suspending particles of pigments to form opaque colors. Iron can produce greens, iron and sulfur can produce ambers and browns, copper can produce light blues, cobalt produces very dark blue, manganese can produce shades of amethyst color, tin can produce white, lead antimony can produce yellow and various metals produce reddish glasses. mainly used for window restoration and lead lighting work

Specialty Glass These include: Self cleaning glass Heat repellent glass Bullet proof Curved glass Self cleaning glass: Pilkington Activ™ is an ordinary glass with a special coating on the outside that has the unique dual-action. Once exposed to daylight, the coating chemically reacts in two ways. First, it breaks down any organic dirt deposits and second, rain water ‘sheets’ down the glass to wash the loosened dirt away. Heat repellent glass: is 6.38mm laminated safety glass incorporating solar control and enhanced insulation. The coating is designed to maximise natural light whilst managing summer and winter extremes. It has a thin film applied to the surface much like that used in car window tinting. Bullet resistant glass: There's no such thing as 'bullet proof.' The criminal will just use a heavier, larger caliber and faster bullet." What are the variables to consider in determining and understanding bullet resistance. Different manufacturers make different variations of bullet-resistant glass, but it is basically made by layering a polycarbonate material between pieces of ordinary glass in a process called lamination. This process creates a glass-like material that is thicker than normal glass.