 | Flat glass is glass formed in a flat shape, such as for cutting into window panes, and glass formed flat and then bent or curved, such as for fabrication into automobile windshields… |
 | Float glass processes involve placing molten glass on the surface of a pool of molten tin or other metal. The molten glass forms a flat layer that floats on this surface of molten metal, as oil floats on the surface of a pool of water… |
 | The largest demand for float glass is for fabrication into windows for dwellings and commercial structures, automobile glass products (e.g., car and truck windshields and windows), architectural products (e.g., siding panels for office towers and glass doors), and mirrors… |
 | From 1984 to 1991, 55 new float glass plants were designed, built, and placed in service throughout the world. Of these plants, nine were built in North America, including seven in the United States… |
 | In addition to annealed float glass there are five other types of float glass available: heat-strengthened glass, fully tempered glass, laminated annealed glass, laminated heat-strengthened glass and laminated fully tempered glass… |
 | Annealed glass has the surface strength that provides the wind-load performance and thermal-stress resistance needed in most architectural applications… |
 | Heat-strengthened glass is produced by heat-treating annealed glass under regulated thermal conditions. In this process, annealed glass that has been cut-to-size is carefully heated in a furnace that is controlled between 1100–1500 degrees Fahrenheit (593815 degrees Celsius) and then quickly air-cooled… |
 | Fully tempered glass is created in a process that is similar to heat-strengthened glass… |
 | There are several laminated glass manufacturing processes. The first calls for two or more lites of glass and one or more interlayers of plasticized polyvinyl butyral resin permanently bonded together under heat and pressure… |
