The windshields of cars are made of a specialized form of glass, specifically designed for this purpose. This glass is composed of silica sand, soda ash, dolomite, waste glass, limestone, and small amounts of potassium oxide and aluminum oxide. On the other hand, the rear glass, also known as rear window glass, rear windshield, or rear glass, is made of tempered glass. This type of glass is also known as safety glass and when broken it breaks into small round pieces.
Unlike the front windshield, which is made of laminated glass, consisting of two pieces of glass with vinyl in the middle. The process of making automotive glass starts at a float glass manufacturing plant. Here raw materials such as silica sand and limestone are combined and floated on a bed of molten tin to create a long ribbon of glass. This type of glass is called float glass in its raw form.
Float glass installations are unique because they are built to operate continuously 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. In 1903, French chemist Edouard Benedictus discovered the secret of shatter-resistant glass when he dropped a glass jar filled with a dry collodion film. This discovery led to the production of two different types of safety glass for automotive use: tempered and laminated. The back window and front and rear door windows are made of tempered glass while the windshield is made of laminated glass.
Laminated glass is created by sandwiching a layer of polyvinyl butyral (PVB) between two pieces of glass. Glass and PVB are sealed by a series of pressure rollers and then heated. This combination of pressure and heat chemically and mechanically bonds PVB to the glass. Mechanical bonding occurs through the adhesiveness of PVB while chemical bonding is created through the hydrogen bonding of PVB to the glass. Tempered glass gains strength through a rapid heating and cooling process that strengthens the outer surface and core of the glass.
Lamination gives the glass strength as it adheres to the inner layer of tear-resistant plastic when broken. This type of automotiveglass is used in side and rear windows as well as sunroofs and even complete roof replacements. There are many companies that fix car glasses, from large national chains to regional or local companies. Depending on where you are located you can find all three types. The modern vehicle incorporates more glass than ever before, including larger windshields, sunroofs and even complete roof replacements. The most important piece of automotive glass is the windshield which is made from laminated safety glass.
The chemical composition used in this process is similar to that seen in the video How Is Automotive Glass Made? The process produces a sheet of uniform thickness with flat surfaces by floating molten glass on a bed of molten metal.
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