We use glass a lot in our home decor and home furnishing production, especially as part of products such as glass tabletops.

Glass is generally made by heating sand or a sand mixture up to a very high temperature so the sand melts. Once the sand mixture is liquid, it can be poured and rolled into a flat glass, pressed into a shape, or blown into a piece of art glass. Once the glass mixture cools, the glass is formed.

Tempered glass is a solid glass used for many products due to its strength and how the glass will not break into many pieces. Tempered glass is produced similar to regular glass, except it goes through some extra steps to add compression strength to the glass.

Formula And Chemistry Of Glass

Glass has traditionally been made by melting sand. The main ingredient of glass is SiO2, which is also known as silica sand. Silica sand has a very high melting temperate of about 1700 degrees C (3092 degrees F); when it is melted, the silica sand becomes like a syrup-type texture.

The sand can have additives such as soda ash and limestone before being heated at a very high temperature of 1700 degrees C. Once the substance is melted, it can be formed into various objects like glass bottles, containers, and flat glass that can be used as a tabletop.

The chemical formula of glass is listed as:

Manufacturing Of Glass Explained

In simple terms, glass is made from sand that is melted at very high temperatures so that the glass will melt and become a liquid form. Once the sand becomes a liquid, then it can be shaped.

The hot liquid will be poured into a machine that rolls the glass into a flat piece to produce flat glass panels. The thickness of the glass will depend on how the device is set up to allow what kind of thickness.

If the glass is needed for a bottle, bowl, or another shape, then the glass can be put into a mold and pressed into shape. Or the glass can also alternatively be blown into a specific shape.

As the heated glass mixture starts to cool, it becomes solid and glass.

The basic process of glass is:

• Sand or Sand mixture is heated at very high temperatures in a kiln oven that can reach 1700 degrees C or up to 3,000 degrees F.
  
• The sand mixture melts.
  
• The sand mixture is poured, pressed, or blown into the glass shape.
  
• When the sand mixture cools, the glass is formed.

All About Tempered Glass

The glass we use for our table tops is a glass known as tempered glass. Tempered glass is the preferred glass for many home decor and home furnishing items as the glass is about four times stronger than regular glass.

If the tempered glass breaks, it will break into relatively harmless small pieces or cracks. That is also why temperated glass is used for windows in vehicles, doors, showers, microwave ovens, skylights, and furniture.

Here is the basic process of making tempered glass:

• Glass is cut into its desired shape. Things like edging and etching need to take place before the glass is tempered, as doing it after can reduce the strength of the glass.
  
• Glass is examined to ensure no imperfections can cause breakage for the tempered glass. Some imperfections that are looked for include bubbles, stones, scratches, or other significant flaws that can potentially weaken the glass.
  
• Glass is placed in a heat treatment process of about 620 Degrees Celsius or 1,148 Degrees Fahrenheit.
  
• Glass then undergoes a high-pressure cooling procedure known as “quenching.” The quenching process lasts just a few seconds as a high-pressure air blast the surface of the glass.

If the high-pressure quenching process is not used, there is also a chemical tempering that uses various kinds of chemicals on the surface of the glass also to cause compression. The chemical process usually costs more than the tempering ovens and quenching, so it is not used frequently.

One of the essential things with tempered glass is that the glass is compressed. The compression when the high-pressured quenching or chemical tempering is conducted makes the glass tempered glass.

During the compression process, the glass’s outer part is cooled much faster than the center part. It is the process of tension that causes compression and gives the tempered glass its added strength.

The Federal Glass standard states that tempered glass must have a surface compression of 10,000 psi or more. Tempered glass will generally break at 24,000 psi.

Glass is a material used extensively in home decor and home furnishing products. Glass, especially tempered glass, can protect the surface of a table or other piece of furniture while giving some added beauty.

If you are interested in seeing how Mondoro can be a valuable partner for your glass home decor and home furnishing products – we would love to talk to you to see how we can help you. 

Find out more about how Mondoro can help you create, develop, and manufacture excellent home decor and home furniture products – don’t hesitate to contact me, Anita. Check out my email by clicking here or become a part of our community and join our newsletter by clicking here.

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