Everyday our workers handle different types of glass from standard glass to tempered glass. Each type of glass is designed to meet specific requirements related to solar control, decoration, security, acoustics, and architecture. In today’s blog post, we’re going to focus on standard glass and tempered glass. What’s the difference?
Standard glass and tempered glass differ in the way they are processed. Standard glass uses an annealing process that forces the glass to cool very rapidly. Standard glass is also popular because it can be reworked. Cutting, reshaping, polishing edges and drilled holes are some customizations that can be done without breaking or shattering regular glass. The downside to the faster annealing process is that the glass is much more fragile. Standard glass breaks into large, irregular shaped shards.
Tempered Glass is about four times stronger than regular class and is known for its safety. And, unlike regular glass, tempered glass fractures into small, relatively harmless pieces. This is possible because during the annealing process the glass is cooled down slowly, which makes the glass much stronger. As a result, tempered glass is used in those environments where human safety is an issue. Applications include side and rear windows in vehicles, entrance doors, shower and tub enclosures, racquetball courts, patio furniture, microwave ovens and skylights.
