What is auto glass made of

Different Types of Auto Glass You Should Know About

Glass is one of the most versatile materials for hundreds of applications. It is used in construction, jewelry, utensils, artwork and auto glass too among other users. The use of glass began over thousands of years ago in Egypt found as a byproduct of volcanic activity. Glass today is manufactured using ceramic materials. The glass in your home windows is usually made of standard glass that can shatter into large shards when you break it. Standard glass is used in windows because they are not expected to receive much strain.

Vehicle windows, on the other hand, are exposed to a lot of strain when the car drives through potholes and over rocks, fender-benders, and flying debris. Automotive glass comes in two main varieties of safety glass, which can handle the pressures of the job without breaking easily, or in large shards like house windows. Automotive windows are made of laminated glass and tempered glass.

Laminated glass is used in the vehicle’s windshield. This type of auto glass is made by inserting a layer of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) between two layers of glass. The glass and PVB layers are compacted and sealed together using pressure rollers and heat, which makes the PVB bond to the glass chemically and mechanically. The PVB has adhesive properties hence the mechanical bonds.

This PVB layer is vital to laminated glass. It gives the laminated glass its ability to absorb energy upon impact. It also makes the glass resistant to penetration from flying projectiles. In case there is an impact, the glass will break, but it will not shatter since the pieces are bonded to the PVB material. This property of laminated glass makes it safe for use in vehicles as it can prevent vehicle occupants from being hurt by broken glass in case of an impact. Laminated glass can reflect about 95% of UV rays from the sun too.

Tempered glass is the other safety glass used on the side windows and rear windshield of vehicles. It differs greatly in form and function to the laminated glass used in the windshield, but it is just as important to vehicle safety. Tempered glass is manufactured by heating and fast cooling glass to room temperature using a system of blowers. Since the surface of the glass cools more quickly than its center, it contracts causing compressive stress while the center of the glass produces tensile stress from expansion due to the temperatures. The two types of stresses give the glass between 5 to 10 times its original strength.

Laminated auto glass has a lot of strength and great safety records. Car manufacturers today are considering the implementation of laminated glass into the side and back windows of vehicles as well. Some manufacturers such as General Motors use laminated glass on the back windows of passenger vehicles. The only challenge of using laminated glass in all the car windows is the laminated glass is hard to break, and it would be difficult for an occupant to exit the vehicle quickly during an emergency. Tempered glass can make escape easier for an injured passenger in an emergency. Visit Sharky’s Auto Glass for more information about auto glass and auto glass repair or replacement.