Glass Processor Factory – What You Need to Know

In the entire value chain of the glass façade industry, glass processing is one of the most important and significant stages. It is the stage where you process the raw sheets of floating or hollow glass and modify the glass to make it fit for a specific use. There are different glass processing techniques that modify the glass suitable for a particular use. For e.g., float glass required for a car dashboard needs to be tough and scratch-proof or glass to be used for a beverage bottle needs engravings on it to give a unique look. Depending on the end-user, you need to select the right glass processing technique. A leading Glass Company in India can provide high-quality glass processing.

In spite of numerous techniques and machinery required for processing glass based on the end application, the Glass processing Techniques can be conventionally categorized into two:

a. Grinding Methods – These methods involve cutting, polishing, drilling, milling, shaping glass where you need to remove a part of the glass in a cold state for giving it the proper shape that enables glass to be installed conveniently at the required location.

b. Non-grinding methods – These are the methods where the properties of the glass are altered by heating above transition temperature or an additional layer is applied to the glass to add various properties to the glass that make glass fit to be used for certain applications.

In addition to standard glass processing grinding methods like cutting, using waterjet or precision lasers, drilling, grinding sawing, and edge polishing, some important new methods that have been developed and used by leading Glass Companies in India. These grinding techniques have the ability to control heat and have a distribution over glass surfaces with precision. Such techniques are used for Edge Processing (Seaming, polishing), Drill and countersink holes, Rounding Corners, Edge/ Corner Cut-outs, etc. Innovative grinding methods include Lead Glazing, Etching, Sandblasting, Painting, etc using advanced equipment.

Some commonly used techniques that fall under non-grinding methods are:

a. Tempering – Using chemical treatment or thermal treatment, ordinary glass is toughened to gain strength. In addition to ordinary tempering, techniques like bend tempering have evolved that help make curved tempered glass with considerable mechanical strength. Such bend tempered glasses can be used for windows, building facades, and other architectural purposes. When the heated glass is cooled slowly, you get high strength glass that can be used for heavy-duty applications.

b. Heat Soaking – This technique prevents spontaneous breaking of glass due to the insertion of stones, thereby increasing the safety of the glass. Tempered glass with heat soaking is generally used in large commercial glass façade buildings.

b. Lamination – To make the glass more durable and conforming to safety standards for architectural and automotive applications, a Laminated Glass is used. This glass contains an inner layer made of plastic or PVB (Polyvinyl butyrate) that holds outer layers of glass in place.

d. Double Glazing – Combination of two or more layers of glass spaced apart using a spacer bar helps improve the insulation of the glass.  

e. Ceramic Fritting – This is a decorative glass that has a glass enamel fused into the glass surface during tampering or heat strengthening. These are also called silk-screened glass that can be used for interior uses like bathrooms, glass doors, partitions, etc.

Glass Processing is a capital intensive business. Every glass processing technique requires a different kind of machine. Glass Processing Technologies are constantly evolving with improvement in research and new techniques are developed every year. One must always choose a Glass Processor and a Glass Factory in Chennai that uses the most advanced state-of-the-art machinery and equipment for handling and processing glass. Numerous Glass Processors in Mumbai or metros work in coordination with Automobile or Architectural companies to come up with unique designs that add to the beauty of buildings or vehicles.