Benefits and common uses of tempered glass

Tempered glass is a type of safety glass that is processed by controlled thermal or chemical treatment. Its strength is increased and this makes it gain a number of benefits and uses, especially its durability as compared with the normal glass.

Most people are however familiar with the standard and laminated type of glasses as opposed to the tempered glass.

There are also others who already have tempered glass but they don’t know their benefits. It is good to know more about this versatile material.

Most places you will find the tempered glass include but not limited to the commercial and residential buildings windows, entrance doors, shower and tub enclosures, patio furniture, fireplaces, walk through doors, greenhouse windows, office petitioners, railing glass, showcases, patio table tops, indoor table top, glass shelves, glass panels antiques protector, craft projects, glass walkways, side and rear windows among other places.

Nowadays you will find tempered glass used for manufacturing a wide range of computer case and maybe you don’t know this but you probably hold it every single day, as screen protector for your mobile phone.

When you buy a new smartphone you probably notice a specific feature – scratch resistant glass – that’s not always enough to keep your display protected so you have the possibility to add a second layer of protection for your smartphone’s display by purchasing and attaching a tempered glass screen protector.

The tempered glass is about four times stronger compared to other types of glass. Furthermore, tempered glass doesn’t shatter into jagged shards if it happens to be broken but instead, it fractures into small relatively harmless pieces.

This is basically the major reason the tempered glass is seen as the best when it comes to environments where human safety is a concern. It reduces any likelihood of injuries since there are no jagged edges.

How the tempered glass is made

Tempering is a process that requires the glass to be the first cut into the desired size. Avoid edging or etching after heating the treatment to avoid strength reduction or product failure.

The glass to be tempered is fully examined for any imperfections which may cause breakage during the process of tempering. In case of sharp ends, sandpaper is used to smooth the edges and the glass is washed thoroughly.

The glass is then heated to a temperature near to its softening point. It is then cooled with air. The process only lasts for just seconds and the high-pressure air blasts the surface of the glass.

The outer surface is cooled faster than the center of the glass. The center tries to pull back to the outer surfaces making the center to remain in tension.

The compression of the outer surfaces gives the tempered glass all the strength it remains with after the process.

According to federal specifications, the tempered glass must have a surface compression of 10, 000 psi or even more. Generally, it breaks at 24000 psi approximately…
 
 
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