The advancement in technology has impacted glass manufacture processes also. Today, there are many types of glasses available, which are designed from the viewpoint of the safety of the user. For automobiles, two types of glasses are mainly used: laminated glass and tempered glass. You will not be aware of this unless you visit a windshield replacement Cibolo company, in case of damage to your windshield.
Automobile safety experts are of the opinion that these glass types have increased the safety of occupants by 8-9%. That is the reason why the government has made it mandatory for all the vehicles to have windshields manufactured using laminated glass. Tempered glass is used for the side windows and the rear windshield. In some vehicles, even the rear windshield and the windows will be manufactured using laminated glass.
Laminated Glass and Its Advantages
Laminated glass is also called as shatterproof glass. The government and windshield replacement Cibolo company not only recommend laminated glass for its safety, but also because it is repairable. Minor cracks and chips on tempered glass can be easily patched up within a couple of hours.
Two thin layers of glass are joined together using a thin sheet of plastic. This sheet will usually be UV resistant, to make the glass also UV resistant. A special technique, which is a combination of pressure and heating, is used to ensure that the two layers of glass remain bonded to each other. Since thin glass layers are used, it is lightweight. Also, the plastic sheet in the middle ensures that the laminated glass is stronger than a normal glass slab of the same dimensions.
In the event of breakage, the pieces of glass will remain bonded to the plastic sheet. Because of the plastic sheet, the glass will not shatter into small pieces. On the contrary, there will be a web of cracks with the pieces stuck to the plastic sheet. This property has enabled researchers to come up with a methodology to fix the crack using bonding resin. Windshield replacement Cibolo companies use the same method to fix cracks and chips which are repairable.
Tempered Glass and Its Advantages
Tempering is a technique where the sheet of glass is heated up to a certain temperature. It is then rapidly cooled with gusts of cold air. When the glass is heated, it evenly expands throughout. Rapid cooling will result in quick contraction of the outer layer of glass, while the inner layer remains the same. This will result in the outer layer hardening and the inner layer being induced with tension.
This glass is very hard and sturdy. The main reason why tempered glass is used for automobile windows is that when tempered glass breaks, it will result in small pebble like pieces. These pieces will have rounded edges and hence, will not cause any damage to the occupants of the automobile. This is the effect of tempering. You would have guessed by now that tempered glass cannot be repaired like laminated glass!
Tempered glass is only used by windshield replacement Cibolo companies for replacing broken automobile windows. It is also used to build phone booths, cooking and baking dishes, cell phone screens, polarized sunglasses, etc.
Different Types of Windshield Glass