Glass has found the widest application in the interior decoration of rooms and building facades. Without it, it is impossible to imagine a single window construction, and the manufacture of transparent furniture has long become a promising type of business. However, along with positive qualities, there are drawbacks: when broken, fragments with sharp edges form, which can cause an accident. To prevent such situations, tempered glass (stalinite) is used, which, when damaged, breaks up into many small particles.
Production
The manufacturing process is almost completely identical to standard technology. By heat treatment of a mixture of sand and quartz to a viscous state, a transparent mass is formed, which is rolled into sheets.
After that, a multiple hardening procedure is necessary to change the physical properties of products. Professional manufacturing of toughened glass is done by heating the surface to 700 ° C, and then blown by streams of cold air in order to cool faster. As a result of such an action, a compressive stress arises on the glass surface, which causes an increase in resistance to mechanical stress. However, with an increase in load, the entire surface of the product is rapidly destroyed - it crumbles into many small fragments with non-sharp edges.
Before installing the glass, you should carefully familiarize yourself with its physical parameters.
The properties
Subject to manufacturing technology, toughened glass acquires unique performance characteristics. They are expressed in increased safety of use and the almost complete elimination of accidents - cuts and injuries.
In addition, it is worth noting the increase in strength compared to ordinary glass. The maximum surface load can be about 300 kg per 1 m². Significant temperature differences also do not affect the change in the properties of the product. But tempered glass has some disadvantages:
- After manufacturing, surface treatment is almost impossible. Toughened glass cutting can be carried out only with the help of special equipment - a diamond disk with constant water cooling.
- High cost compared to standard products.
- The increase in specific gravity.
The unique properties of tempered glass make it possible to use it in many areas of life.
Processing and cutting
Changing the structure of tempered glass directly affects its processing procedures. This applies to changing the configuration of the product, drilling holes, etc. To give the glass the desired shape, it is best to complete all the work before the tempering procedure.
But this does not always succeed - in some cases it is necessary to cut the finished product. If you have a special processing machine, the procedure for changing the configuration will not be complicated. It is enough to set a specific cutting program. Handling glass is very problematic. But in some cases it succeeds. It should be noted right away that using a conventional glass cutter, products with a maximum thickness of 5 mm are processed. To partially relieve tension, the surface of toughened glass is wiped with a white spirit. Then, in one motion, it is necessary to make an incision along which a kink occurs. Efforts to separate are made small, and in no case should you tap on glass.
Glazing
Due to its unique properties, tempered glass can be used in many fields: from installation in window structures to the manufacture of luxury furniture. Its strength and safety have become fundamental factors of this popularity.
But the main purpose of tempered glass is still the manufacture of transparent structures for building facades. To create a panoramic view, large sizes of structures are used. Since the weakest point of tempered glass is its end face, safety precautions should be observed until it is installed in the window frame. In the future, the design successfully withstands large wind loads and mechanical stress.
Differences
In appearance, it is almost impossible to distinguish a red-hot product from a regular one. The result is revealed only when broken, or when the question arises, how to cut tempered glass? This is necessary to select the optimal configuration change technology. If you try to cut ordinary glass on a machine with a diamond disk, then as a result it can be damaged, broken.
There are several ways to identify the difference:
- A special device for determining the brand of glass. It is applied on productions.
- Different sound with light tapping. The red-hot surface resonates waves in low tonality. The sound is dull.
- If you look through polarized lenses, then on the surface of tempered glass you can see small contours of the grid.
But the most optimal way is to use a point device. Its cost is relatively high, but it will quickly cover possible damage to the production resulting from processing the wrong product.