Modern Safety Glazing – Demand, Challenge and Opportunity

New market trends in architectural glazing point very clearly in the direction of increasingly sophisticated products with entirely new functions. The glazing of the 21st century will provide energy economy, solar control, intelligence and many other new features. Just as the automotive designers try to achieve a harmonious result in new model design, many architects prefer bent glass surface when creating new shapes for the buildings and interiors. The same applies to designers in appliance industry as well as to shower cabin, and furniture manufactures, to name a few.

The main challenge for glass processors responding to the advanced shapes and product grades favored by contemporary designers has clearly been technological. As an example, advanced coatings create complexity in glass products triggering entirely new requirements for production machinery and expanding the dimensions of traditional technology. In this market environment several factors contribute to the fast adoption of new products and methods. The continuing move towards better energy efficiency in buildings is providing a strong push for the application of coated glass. Sputtered (off-line) low-E or solar control coatings are becoming standard in countries where climates are sunny the whole year or cold in winter and warm in summer. For glass processors with traditional technology this has meant a need to adopt somewhat slower tempering processes because of longer heating time. At the same time processors are hard pressed to boost their production capacity without compromising the aim for outstanding quality with all glass types.

Functional glazing is not limited to flat glass applications. Bent glass in various sizes can be used to add functionality along with enhanced aesthetics. While more demanding shapes are constantly sought after in bent safety glazing, better quality in optics and repeatability are also emphasized. The challenge is ready: in architectural applications every loading can be of different size, thickness, shape, bending radius, among other properties. In addition, coated glass products can be involved in the mix.

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The Authors

Mr. Jarko Salo Sales VP Tamglass-Bavelloni Singapore Read more