What Kind of Glass is Used in Cars?

The side windows and rear windshield of a car are made of tempered glass. This type of glass is extremely strong and is manufactured by rapidly heating it to more than 1000 degrees Fahrenheit and then rapidly cooling it to room temperature. There are two main types of glass used when building cars: laminated glass and tempered glass. Most glass used in cars is tempered, including the side windows, the deflector glass, the ventilation glass, and the glazed roof (if the car has one).

The windshield, however, is made of laminated glass. Laminated glass holds two pieces of glass together, with a thin layer of plastic between them. When the laminated glass breaks, the main piece remains intact and the broken piece falls off. This prevents people inside or outside the vehicle from being injured by flying shards of glass. The quality of these glasses is quite different from the ones you have on the windows of your house, as the technology used in their manufacture varies from one type of glass to another. An important difference between car or windshield glass and other glass is that the former is shatter proof.

This means that the glass will have no sharp parts, if the vehicle collides or collides with another vehicle in a traffic accident. Automotive glass is exceptionally durable and responsible for 60% of the car's structural integrity in rollover accidents, while absorbing 45% of the crash impact during a head-on collision. Laminated glass, with a century-old fool-proof design, consists of two strong glass sheets that become a single thick sheet by sandwiching a layer of polyvinyl butyral in the middle. The reason for its popularity in the automotive industry is its strength, durability, flexibility and versatility. In addition, laminated glass can be repaired, but tempered glass breaks completely in an accident and requires a complete replacement. Some premium cars, such as the Mercedes Benz S350, use all laminated glass, including the door glass and rear windshield.

Automotive glass is also used for sunroofs; they are designed to be UV-resistant to help passengers enjoy natural light without harmful UV rays. Glass manufacturers continue to explore new ideas to make automotive glass stronger, safer and more adaptable to new vehicles. The layers are bonded together using high temperatures to provide us with an incredibly strong and durable automotive glass that won't break in the event of an accident.