Tempered Glass had completely shaken the world of interior & architectural design down to its core. A material widely renowned for its enhanced aesthetic appeal and a high degree of fragility had now experienced a remarkable increase in strength. The advent of technology had paved way for the development of such a material which shares all the basic characteristics of an ordinary glass along with the new characteristics such as enhanced strength & durability. These remarkable features become the reason for its large-scale applications and soon this modernized glass managed to find its way into the architecture of homes & businesses. Despite its increased popularity, the general public holds little to no knowledge about the remarkable characteristics of such a glass. The strength is not the only property which makes tempered glass unique and there are numerous other great benefits of this glass which had become the cause of its extensive commercial & residential applications.
The glass is widely renowned as a material which enhances the aesthetic appearance of the living space and holds remarkable property of light transmission. Regardless of this, glass is always considered as a dangerous material and there is always a high degree of risk involved with the usage of glass. Upon breakage, the glass shatters into small pieces which are sharp enough to penetrate the skin and can cause a great damage to the human body. These limitations had restricted the applications of glass and users refrain from the idea of using this material at places where strength & safety are important. Although the advent of technology had completely altered the characteristics of glass and helped in the development of such a glass which holds lessened limitation and increased benefits.
These advancements led to the development of tempered glass – A glass which opened a new horizon in the world of architecture & design. Taking out the element of risk and adding in the characteristic of strength made these glasses a perfect choice of material for the replacement glass and for special interior & architectural projects. There are hardly any reasons which restrict the use of such a glass and one can use these specially-altered glasses in any business, commercial, or residential living space. In order to learn more about the remarkable features of this modernized glass, it is essential to acquire basic knowledge of its process of preparation and design limitations.
Preparation of Tempered Glass
Tempered glass is assumedly 3-4 stronger than annealed glass and this is the leading reason for its enhanced popularity. As the name describes, this glass is prepared by the process of temperature alteration. The process of preparing such a glass include emission of a great amount of heat energy which may rise up to a temperature of 700◦C. Prepared inside a furnace, the superheated glass is immediately cooled down rapidly afterward. The act of tempering develops unique stress patterns with tension in the center and compression along the surface. The increased compressive zones are the cause of the glass increased mechanical strength & durability and also contributes to the element of increased safety.
Tempered Glass & Increased Human Safety
Human safety had always been the leading concern with the use of an ordinary glass and had also been the primary reason for the use of Tempered Glass. The tempering process stores up energy inside the glass which releases upon breaking causing the glass to break into the similar-shaped blunt pieces which cause little to no harm to the users. A perfect alternative for using in family living areas and places where human safety holds most importance. As compared to the ordinary glass which shatters into sharp irregular pieces, this glass breaks into fragments of small round crystals. The breakage characteristic of this glass contributes to the element of safety and had made it possible to use such a glass in places where ordinary glass would never have been preferred. Although there is one downside to the use of such a glass which is its tendency to spontaneously break without any signs of exterior damage. But still, the spontaneous breakage is also in a consistent manner and holds little to no risk to the element of human safety.
Enhanced Thermal Shock Resistance
These glasses serve as a representation of the modern engineering marvels and this technology had helped transform ordinary glass into a super glass. Besides strength & safety, these glasses also have a very high resistance against thermal energy. The remarkably capability to withstand heat comes from the tempering process of the glass during which it experiences a relatively high temperature above 600 degrees. This characteristic makes this glass ideal for places where thermal resistance holds great significance and glass is exposed to increased heat energy for a great duration of time. This is one of the reasons for its wide-scale use and they are now widely being used in the shower doors & bathroom where the exposure to hot water steam is maximum. As a result, these glasses provide the bathroom design with the same level of delicacy without having to compromise on strength & quality.
Higher Damage & Scratch Resistance
Tempered glass is now widely being used in both the residential and commercial living space and makes an ideal material for doors, windows, and partitions. These elements of the living space are usually used in exposed spaces and have to go through the wear and tear of daily use. This makes them prone to scratches and damages which deteriorates the aesthetics of ordinary glass and lessen their design life. On the contrary, tempered glass is engineered to have a higher damage & scratch resistance and turns out to be a more economical alternative. The tendency to resist such damage helps increase the design life of such a glass and lower the maintenance cost to a great extent. In addition to this, these characteristics make the glass an ideal option for kitchen cabinets and it greatly contributes to the enhanced aesthetic appearance of the living space. These properties also contribute to the element of increased durability and this had made such a glass the durable alternative for using in any given living space.
Versatility of Design
The flexibility & versatility of design are the important design aspects of any architectural design space and helps increase the aesthetic appearance of a living area. The versatility of design encourages the sense of creativity and enable the users to explore a whole new world of extravagant design. The primary objective of modern-day design is to be innovative and stylish at the same time and this can only be accomplished by the use of state-of-the-art materials such as tempered glass. Besides this, the modernized glass also delivers the most translucent images and crystal clear results. These glasses also make the ideal material for display cases which requires extra strength and durability in order to endure the damages of time. The use of such a glass also provides the design enthusiasts numerous different pattern alternatives and one can customize the glass in the desired pattern of their choice.
Enhanced Strength & Durability
Among the very best features of tempered glass are its enhanced strength and long-lasting durability. The act of tempering glass completely revolutionized the general perception of the material and made it from fragile and delicate to a tough and strong aesthetic material. Such a glass is used extensively in the high-rise building and commercial environment and is best to withstand the high pressure due to wind or forces of nature. A glass which holds the capability of resisting breakage is a material of dream and it opens doors to a various new array of applications of glass in the different workplace and living settings.
Custom Cut Tempered Glass
Tempered glass surely have a great number of advantages but it does also have a few limitations. Although these limitations don’t hinder the extensive use of such glasses and can be easily eliminated with the proper acts of customization. These glasses can’t be cut, changed, or altered once it had gone through the tempering process. This is one of the major limitations of such a glass but this can easily be accounted for with the use of custom-cut glasses which adhere perfectly to the ever-evolving needs & requirements of the users. Fab Glass & Mirrors offers a wide variety of high quality & enhanced strength glasses available both in regular & irregular shapes and also in customized shapes.
Adding in the customized details to such a glass is significantly important beforehand as there is no possible way of adding extra details upon the completion of the tempering process. Every aspect of glass from edge thickness to holes need to be drilled beforehand as doing so afterward causes a reduction in the strength and durability of glass. Hence, it is essential to know the correct usage of glass prior to customizing one. The wide array of uses of customized tempered glass include Custom Cut Glass Tabletop, Custom Cut Mirror, Replacement Glass, Custom Cut Glass Shelf, and Glass Panels.