Flat glass

A flat glass of each glass in the form of disks is referred to, regardless of the production method employed. The most common manufacturing process for flat glass are the float glass process, the rolling or casting of flat glass, and other mainly historically important processes such as the Libbey- Owens- or Zylinderblasverfahren. The products are discs which mostly find application in the construction industry for windows or architectural glass. Another important field of flat glass are automotive glass, mirrors, solar glass for photovoltaic, solar thermal and also greenhouses and display glass for screens of computers, televisions and smartphones. For most of these applications, the glass produced is subjected to further processing steps in order to adapt to the conditions of use.

Production

Today the major part of the flat glass is produced by the float process, the float glass. Embossed glass, which can have complicated relief pattern is produced by the rolled glass process. During this process, a wire mesh can be inserted, thus producing wire-reinforced glass.

The oldest method to produce flat glass was heated spinning glass balls on the blowpipe to the Moon glass. This circular discs emerged to 1.2 m in diameter. Production affective pointed to the centerpiece of the disc where the moon glass adhered to the blowpipe, a thickener - the so-called slugs.

From the 17th century uniformly thick slices were obtained to 1.5 m by rolling. From 1904 discs of almost any dimension could be drawn. The float glass process was first used in 1959 for industrial use.

See Glass ( story).

Glass products used

Flat glass is the basis for many further processing.

Glass processing techniques

Flat glass surface errors are: scratches (vandalism, false glass cleaning, transport damage) or by cement deposits and hydrofluoric acid burns ( vandalism). Principle, such damage is the only way to repair that one carefully and as evenly as possible removes glass in the range of the error.

There are two repair methods: 1 combination of grinding and polishing, polishing 2.

In the first method, the wear of the glass is effected by a grinding process in several stages. Here, an angle grinder is used with a flexible recording plate, which is fitted with wheels of different grain size or with a polishing wheel. The first stage of the grinding wheel has the task to realize the required glass removal by Glasabkratzen. The finer grinding stages have the task of reducing the surface roughness so far that the polishing stage can restore the original transparency.

  • Advantages: The repair is possible in the installed state.
  • Cons: The quality of repair is dependent on the experience of the repairer. Due to uneven wear of the glass there is a risk of unnecessary optical distortions. Should the applicant Repairer not to replace the former two structures grinding evenly through the final sanding structure, remnants of the former two structures remain visible ( cloud formation ).

To reduce these risks, quality, there are methods in which the glass a mechanical machine operation is applied by suction cups.

In the second method, the required glass removal is done by a very intense polishing process. Here, the glass components ( approximate composition: 75% SiO2, 13% Na2O, 12% CaO) are hydrated and dissolved in water. During polishing of the original transparency of the glass is not changed. The following conditions are required for this intensive polishing process:

  • Aqueous polishing slurry with optimum polish ( cerium oxide )
  • Special felt ( toboggan structure)
  • High polishing pressures
  • High speed

This method utilizes a negative pressure system between the polishing slurry tank and polishing machine to remove the polishing machine, the polishing agent or to the machine and to carry on the plane-parallel glass.

  • Cons: not known
  • Advantages: The repair is possible in the installed state.
  • During repair, the transparency of the glass is not changed.
  • Minimized, uniform glass removal and thus minimized optical distortion.

Glass constructions

  • Linearly supported glazing is glazing in which the discs are stored line throughout.
  • Point-controlled glazing is glazing, which are connected to a point-like substructure. Here, the point bearing: In holes or cutouts by continuous single-point fixings or
  • At the plate corners or edges by means toolholders.
Solar thermal energy Toughened glass Freezing Polyvinylbutyral Bulletproof glass Hydrophobe Daylight Grinding (abrasive cutting)
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