What is Tempered Glass? – Tempered glass is one of the most common types of glass used in architecture, or automotive due to its thermal properties, safety, and durability.

But, before deciding to buy at the nearest tempered glass store, do you know what it is and why this product is used? The more important question, when do you need to use it?

To know the answers to all the above questions, it will be very important for you to know from the way it is made, the reason for its use, its capabilities, and other facts that you need to understand.

What is Tempered Glass?

Tempered glass is a type of safety glass that is processed by maximizing thermal or controlled chemical compounds to increase the strength of the glass itself.

Tempering puts the outer surface into compression and the interior becomes more tense and dense. Such pressure allows glass, when broken, to transform into small fragments.

Also, the pressure surface tension gives tempered glass a better strength which is four times stronger than the annealed glass. This is because the annealed glass has almost no internal pressure and usually forms microscopic cracks on its surface.

How Tempered Glass is Made?

The process of making a tempered glass is the glass is placed on a rolling table, which then carries it through a hose, which heats it well above the transition temperature of 564 °C (1.047 °F) to about 620 °C (1.148 °F).

The next step is to remove the glass from the hose and immediately undergo a rapid cooling process. The commonly used cooling method is to blow out cold air across the surface on both sides evenly. This condition allows the glass to be compressed while the core of the glass remains tight.

Besides, there’s chemicals involved in the hardening process. The process involves forcing a glass surface layer as thick as 0.1 mm into pressure by exchanging sodium ions on the glass surface with potassium ion. (yang 30 persen lebih besar).

The glass is soaked into a potassium nitrate bowl. This chemically hardening process increases strength compared to hardening using thermal methods, and can be applied to glass objects with complex shapes.

Also Read: “What’s the Difference Between Laminated and Tempered Glass?“

Advantages of Tempered Glass

Because undergoing a specific process, tempered glass has been specially formed and is resistant to a number of conditions.

Tempered glass has been proven to be five times stronger than ordinary glass. Besides, another advantage of using tempered glass is that this glass is also three times more powerful than glass undergoing an ordinary heating process.

For safety considerations, tempered glass is also a recommended product. As mentioned above, if tempered glass is damaged such as breaking it does not harm the people around it.

Tempered glass can also withstand uneven temperatures and tend to be high compared to ordinary glass, which is susceptible to thermal damage.

It is caused by sunlight or a direct source of heat that causes glass to expand and contract at different rates. Tempered glass has a very high edge strength that allows it to withstand thermal damage.

Disadvantage of Tempered Glass

The ability of tempered glass to break into tiny stones, which is one of its key benefits, can also be considered its drawback.

The glass can be dangerous for security because it is made to break completely when it hits something. Because the entire window might come apart with a single force, motivated burglars might find it easier to get in.

Additionally, since tempered glass has gone through the tempering process, it cannot be resized, recut, or reshaped.

Also Read: “Everything You Need to Know About Bulletproof Glass“

Since tempered glass is too brittle to be cut or altered after it has been tempered, all sizing must be completed before the glass is treated.

Precision and custom installation are essential when using tempered glass because any damage to one portion of it would cause the entire sheet to break.

So there you go all you need to know about the tempered glass along with its advantages and disadvantages!

One thing to consider is choosing the tempered glass that has already been SNI certified to further ensure the safety and quality of safety glass.

The SNI is the approval to ensure that all products and services that is in Indonesian Market is meet Indonesian standards of quality and safety.