TIPS OF ARCHITECTURAL GLASS KNOWLEDGE

From the mid 1950's—with the introduction of the process by the Pilkington Brothers in the UK which revolutionized the making of glass, a process called "float glass"—architectural glass has found an ever increasing use as a design and construction material in today's modern buildings.

The use of glass includes a wide range of applications such as—windows, partition walls, stair rails, balcony rails, doors and stair treads, to name a few. The materials used as architectural glass include tempered glass, laminated glass, heat strengthened glass, as well as many other combinations of these glass types. 

Using glass as a building material has become increasingly popular in the recent years due to advancements in the strengthening of the glass and also the accuracy in which it can be fabricated. Over recent years more and more glass is being used in construction. With today’s technology, less metal is required to fasten the glass to other substrates. This gives architects opportunities to show off certain aspects of their design while also creating a safe and functional space. Glass is also being used as a feature in many instances. New advancements in digital ceramic frit printing and laminating make this material both beautiful to look at and interesting as well as durable and sanitary. Going forward we will see more and more glass being used structurally in the building envelope.

Most glass projects begin as glass sheets coming from a float glass plant.  The first operation is usually cutting the large sheets into the correct sizes for the application using a cutting table. Cutting tables actually don’t cut, but score the glass so the operator can then snap the glass to size. The Glass will be further processed for drilling and milling operations on machines such as JR, Speed or Vertec (vertical machine). Edging operations can be added on JR, Speed, Profile (Vertical Machine) and Futura line of double edgers.