Most people are only familiar with ordinary glass that is used for windows and mirrors. There are different types of glass like tempered glass, annealed glass and gorilla glass. Tempered glass is four times stronger than annealed glass and ordinary glass. Annealed glass will shatter or crack into pieces when exposed to temperature changes and mechanical stress.
Because of its strength, tempered glass is now being used in building structures where safety is a major concern. Examples of the applications of tempered glass include shower and tub enclosures, mobile phones and electronic gadgets, balustrades, pool enclosures, skylights, microwave ovens, side and rear view windows of vehicles and entrance doors.
Before the tempering process, glass is cut to the desired size because strength reductions and product failure may result from some fabrication processes like etching or heat treatment. During the preparation process, glass is inspected for any signs of imperfections that may break during the tempering process. Sharp edges are removed from the glass through the use of sandpaper.
During the heat treatment process, glass is placed inside an oven that has a temperature of more than 600 degrees Celsius. After the application of heat, glass undergoes a high pressure cooling process that is called quenching for only a few seconds. Through quenching the outer edges of glass is cooled more quickly than the centre through high pressure air blasts on the surface from an array of nozzles in varying positions.
As the centre of the glass cools down, it tries to pull back from the outer surfaces. This results into the centre remaining in tension while the outer surfaces go into compression so that tempered glass attains the desired strength. There is another approach in tempering glass through the use of chemical exchange ions on the surface to create compression; however, this method is not widely used because it is more expensive than tempering ovens and quenching.
Frameless glass shower screens made from tempered glass are now the trend particularly for compact bathrooms. To complete customization of the glass panels, customers have the option of glass shower screen hinges to support the horizontal structures. The impressive crystalline structure is shatter-proof and impact-resistant after heat treatment and quenching.