Have you ever pondered: what is toughened glass? Perhaps you’ve fallen into the trap of believing tempered glass and toughened glass have different uses and you’ve not been sure what’s best for the job. Our handy guide is here to let you have all the facts and help you make the most informed decision for your decorative and architectural glass products.
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Tempered glass and toughened glass are actually the same and Wikipedia defines it best:
“Tempered or toughened glass is a type of safety glass processed by controlled thermal or chemical treatments to increase its strength compared with normal glass. Tempering puts the outer surfaces into compression and the interior into tension. Such stresses cause the glass, when broken, to crumble into small granular chunks instead of splintering into jagged shards as plate glass (a.k.a. annealed glass) does. The granular chunks are less likely to cause injury”.
Tempered or toughened glass is also as much as 6 times stronger than untreated glass as well as being resistant to impacts. The safety glass credentials come in when tempered/toughened glass is broken into smaller, rounder edged pieces. Whereas normal annealed glass shatters into sharper edged pieces that are much more likely cut the skin on contact.
The safety and strength of tempered glass make it desirable for a variety of architectural and decorative applications in the home and commercial environments. Here at abc Glass Processing, all our high quality glass products are made from tempered/toughened glass as standard – just the way we and our customers like it.
Although annealed glass can be transformed into toughened glass via chemical reaction and ion exchange when the glass is immersed in a potassium salt bath at 300°C, abc Glass Processing uses the heat toughening process to create the very best quality tempered glass. Chemically toughened glass is inferior to heat toughened glass because it still breaks into sharp splinters and can’t regarded as safety glass without lamination.
By using our state-of-the-art Glaston toughening furnace, consisting of ceramic rollers that move the glass forward and back, we heat normal annealed glass up to 670°C. The glass is heated for some time (90 seconds to 20 minutes, depending on glass thickness) before it’s chilled back to 15°C so it’s cool enough to touch. The surface of the glass becomes almost molten during the tempering process and is then cooled from the outside in (thinner glass is cooled more rapidly and thicker glass more slowly) using jets of cold air, created by our industrial cooling machine.
The resulting tempered glass is much stronger and more resistant to breakage – under compressive strain on the outside and under tension inside. At abc Glass Processing, the standard of toughened safety glass is self-regulated. This means we break each batch of glass processed to make sure our glass products maintain the highest standards of safety and quality.
You can rest assured that all glass products created by abc Glass Processing are created using toughened/tempered glass. On any glass product, you should be able to identify toughened glass by its toughening mark or British/European standard etched into the glass. The exact markings will depend on the toughened glass’ country of origin (where the glass was processed).
Because it’s both super-strong and super-safe, toughened glass is used in a variety of traditional decorative and architectural applications. These might be in the home or commercial settings including the automotive, technological and sports/leisure industries. Applications may include anything from shower doors and fridge trays to mobile screen protectors and diving masks.
At abc Glass Processing, our range of toughened glass architectural and decorative products include, but are not limited to:
Tempered glass also offers thermal resistance and is inherently waterproof. This means it’s an excellent consideration for glass kitchen splashbacks where high temperatures can be reached and glass bathroom splashbacks where high humidity is common. Likewise, glass is ideal for frameless glass doors and wall partitions inside the home as well as glass doors and windows outside the home, which need to offer greater protection from the elements and could be liable to stress from excessive banging and impacts.
Yes, your toughened glass for shower enclosures, balustrades, splashbacks or any other application can be cut to any size and shape you require. Cutting tempered glass, however, happens before the glass toughening process so it’s easier and more precise. Really, annealed glass is cut and then toughened or tempered.
Let’s face it, most things have a breaking point but the toughening of glass does make it harder to break than untoughened glass. As well as thermal stresses within the glass, damage during installation – such as a chipped edge developing into a larger break – is the most common cause of breakage. When it does break, tempered/toughened glass is designed to shatter into small pieces that are much less likely to cause injury. This is why toughened glass is often referred to as “safety glass”.
As already mentioned, while toughened glass is stronger than standard glass and will be harder to break it can still be broken. The difference is that toughened glass is designed to shatter, breaking into lots of very small pieces. While it’s still possible that these pieces will cause minor cuts, they’re too small and dull to cause serious harm. Glass that’s not toughened will break into large shards, which will be very sharp and dangerous – not ideal for any domestic or commercial application if you want to keep your family or clients safe!
For more information about our professional glass processing services, quality toughened glass for glass splashbacks or toughened glass mirrors cut to size, get in touch with Hampshire glass processing experts abc.
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Tempered glass — you’ve probably heard of it. Even if you haven’t, you can probably find it around your home. It’s one of the most popular types of glass and is used in a range of applications, including oven doors, shower screens and kitchen splashbacks.
But what makes tempered glass different from regular glass? They may look the same to the naked eye, but tempered glass and annealed glass are made in different ways, resulting in vastly different structural properties. In this article, discover why tempered glass has become such a popular choice for homes and businesses across the country.
Tempered glass is standard annealed glass that has ‘toughened’ via a chemical reaction that occurs during a heat treatment process known as thermal tempering.
The resulting glass is up to 6 times stronger than annealed glass and can withstand compression of at least 10,000lbs per square inch. It is also up to 500% more resistant to heat and shock than regular glass.
When tempered glass does smash, it shatters into small, blunt pebbles instead of razor-sharp shards. This makes tempered glass far safer than regular glass.
Tempered glass is created through a process of intense heating and rapid cooling. Normal annealed glass is heated to around 650°C, where it begins to soften, before the surface is rapidly cooled. This process alters the physical properties of the glass, creating central tension that makes the panel more difficult to break.
Tempered glass has greater shock and heat resistance than ordinary glass, making it ideal for use in oven doors.
Most significantly, tempered glass shatters into blunt pebbles instead of splintering into shards. This makes tempered glass a safer option for use in homes with children. The pieces are easy and safe to clean up.
Tempered glass is used in a range of applications, spanning both domestic and commercial settings. Tempered glass is often used in decorative and architectural applications, and can even be found throughout the technology and automotive industries.
Tempered glass will also be commonly found around the home. It is most commonly used in shower doors, balustrades, oven doors and in kitchen splashbacks, but can also be found in fridge trays and coffee tables.
Tempered glass is great for use in kitchen splashbacks because it has a high thermal resistance and is inherently waterproof.
Tempered glass can be made into any size or shape you’d like. Rather than cutting the tempered glass directly, annealed glass is cut into the desired shape and then tempered through the thermal tempering process.
Bridgewater Glass supplies a range of glass products, including tempered glass splashbacks, to customers across Hertfordshire and beyond, including St. Albans and Hemel Hempstead. With over 60 years of experience in the industry, we know a thing or two about quality glass. We’ll design your glass splashback to your precise specifications and install it in your home with the perfect finish.
To enquire about our products, get in touch with our team today.
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