Flat and Bend Tempered Glass in Chicago
Tempered safety glass is made by heating annealed (float) glass uniformly through a furnace to temperatures exceeding 670 C – 700 C. The standard clear, tinted, reflective or Low-E float glass is then transferred to the quenching chamber of the furnace where it is rapidly cooled. This process increases the compression forces on the surface and the tension forces inside the glass, which gives tempered safety glass almost 5 times more strength than ordinary annealed (float) glass of the same thickness, combined with much greater resistance to impact. In conclusion, if this glass is broken the contained stress is released and results in the glass breaking into small particles.