A glass may fall into different categories based on the distinct purposes it serves. These different types of glass are suitable for use in buildings, automobiles, interiors, and industrial applications.
Float glass
Float glass is the base glass material to create or design any other glass type. To make this, we pour molten glass on the bed of molten tin. The molten glass floats on the tin and creates a flat and uniform sheet. On slow cooling, this sheet finally turns into smooth, clear glass with even thickness and parallel surfaces.
You can find the use of float glass in most standard applications, including frames, furniture, and mirrors. Due to its affordability and clarity, it is common in less demanding projects. However, along with its affordability, it is highly versatile too, allowing further processing to create specialized glass varieties.
Decorative glass types
We also offer glass varieties exclusively to enhance visual appeal, offer privacy, and control light. These are of different types available, making them suitable for interiors and architectural applications. Some of its types include:
Pattern glass
For a patterned glass, we roll the semi-molten glass through the metal rollers with a raised design. When the glass passes through the surface, the pattern gets on one or both sides of the glass, giving a textured finish. As the texture distorts the visibility of the glass, you may also know this type as obscure glass. With this rolling process, you can get different types of textures, such as frosted, fluted, and ribbed.
Tinted glass
To give a tinted appearance to the glass, we add a layer of metal oxide to the glass during the manufacturing process. The tint in the glass depends on the amount of metal oxide added. This layer of metal oxide absorbs and reflects light, controlling the amount of light and heat that passes through the glass.
Acid-Etched glass
In this glass type, we apply a layer of strong acid, mostly hydrofluoric acid, to the clear float glass. With the controlled chemical reaction, the acid erodes the surface, giving a smooth satin-frosted finish. Normally, they are available with only one side etched, but for a more diffuse effect, both sides can be treated with acid. These are commonly used for interior doors, decorative panels, and signage. Due to its resistance to fingerprints, it is also common in high-touch areas.
Stained glass
Stained glass is available in vivid colours due to the addition of different metal oxides in the molten glass. For instance, cobalt for blue, gold for red, and copper for green. On cooling, these glasses are cut into pieces and assembled using lead strips.
Reflective glass
In the reflective glass, we treat the float glass surface with a metal oxide layer through a pyrolytic chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. As a result, the glass gets a durable reflective layer, giving it a mirror-like finish.
Mirror glass
In mirror glass, we deposit a thin layer of a reflective metal covering on the clear flat glass. Commonly, we use silver as the thin layer. In modern manufacturing, aluminium is also an option apart from silver. Both silver and aluminium layers need further treatment to avoid oxidation. With this layering, you get a durable mirror with excellent reflective properties and long-lasting performance.
Safety-focused glass
When it comes to safety, two main glass types fall in the category: laminated and tempered glass:
Laminated glass
Laminated glass, as the name suggests, comprises one or more thin plastic layers, mostly polyvinyl butyral, bonded between the glass layers. After stacking the glass and the plastic layers, we put them into an autoclave. Under high heat and pressure, these layers fuse permanently. As a result, you get a tough laminated glass which, when broken, does not scatter because the plastic interlayer traps the glass shards.
Due to this feature, it makes a perfect fit for automotive windshields, in architecture for skylights, glass floors, large windows, and for glass railings and facades. As the glass remains in place after breakage, it prevents injuries and property damage.
Tempered Glass
Also known as toughened glass, tempered glass requires a controlled thermal tempering process for its production. The glass is reheated at around 620°C and quickly cooled under high-pressure air jets. This sudden cooling locks the outer compression layer and inner core in tension. As a result, you get a highly toughened glass, almost four to five times stronger than annealed glass.
The safety feature of this glass lies in its breaking process. If the glass breaks, instead of breaking into several sharp shards, it breaks into small, blunt granules, minimizing the chances of injury. Owing to this feature, tempered glass is common in frameless glass doors, large windows, table tops, curtain walls, and side and rear car windows. Even the mobile phone screen protectors and oven doors have tempered glass to endure everyday impact.
Heat-strengthened glass
This glass preparation needs a quenching process, which involves first heating the glass at high temperatures and then slowly cooling it. This gradual cooling creates a strong outer layer, giving it a high strength as compared to annealed glass. However, it is less strong than fully tempered glass.
Heat-strengthened glass is suitable for applications requiring strength to bear wind loads and thermal stress.
Insulated glass
Insulated glass units (IGUs), as the name suggests, facilitate insulation by reducing the amount of heat transfer through them. The insulating feature of this glass comes from a layer of air/gas sandwiched between the two glass panes. For this, you need to take two or more glass panes and seal them into a spacer to create an air-tight cavity, comprising an inert gas, mostly argon or krypton. The presence of inert gas enhances insulation by preventing heat transfer.
Insulated glass is of two types, depending on the number of glass panes used. When there are two, it becomes double-glazed glass, while for three glass panes, it is triple-glazed glass.
These multi-layered insulated glass units prevent heat loss in winter and heat penetration in summer, making them perfect for energy-efficient buildings. Due to this feature, these glasses are common in modern exterior windows, glass doors, and skylights. Along with insulation, these units offer noticeable soundproofing.