New Technology for Processing of Large Glass

Sizes, Types and Shapes

Session 10
Mr. Mauri Leponen
Director
Architectural Glass Industry
Tamglass Ltd. Oy

Keywords

Abstract well. Other European countries followed at a

somewhat slower pace but now it is fair to say that
The latest changes and modifications in the the use and application of Low-E glass has
architecture, architectural design and construction become standard in many European countries.
methods set new challenges in to the glazing The next breakthrough will most probable happen
structures. The large glass sizes, LOW-E coatings in UK, where the legislation is under development
including the so called super LOW-E’s need to be and it is expected to come out in very near future.
tempered to meet the design of the latest It is obvious that the development continues over
architectural solutions and applications. The new the whole EU countries with few years time.
technological methods in glass tempering are Low-E glass applications have increased on
summarised along with the physical limitations in other continents as well. Today more than 90
engineering and processing. percent of all windows sold in North America are
insulated glass units and that high percentage is
Driving forces expected to rise even further. Some marketing
research indicates that 20 percent of all windows
The growing use of glass brings entirely new in the U.S. today make use of low emissivity glass
challenges and requirements to the safety glass and that proportion is expected to grow by more
market. It is natural that the main use is related than 50 percent over the next five years. The
in to the tempered glass, which is dominating the window structures in the Asia-Pacific area are
safety glass market. The popularity and use of mainly single-glazed. This market, however, will
energy-efficient windows has increased very probably witness an increased demand for
quickly in Europe during the past decade. In insulating units as air conditioning becomes
Northern Europe and particularly in Scandinavia, standard and building codes more strict.
energy-efficient windows have been used for more In the near future the most important conclusion
than 25 years. The obvious reason for this is the and driving forces from the development point of
cold climate conditions, which has basically forced view are
to use the glazing solutions with best thermal • energy control (LOW-E)
characteristics like insulated glass units and double • large windows with maximum daylighting and
facades. The normal insulated glass units (IG) ”miniframes”
have not been even enough for years and new • smart windows and glazing with integrated solar
glass types had to be developed. The tendency panels
has been natural due to the high-energy price and • increasing safety and security
the comfortable development in house design. The
breaker in the use of coated glass has been Large windows and daylighting
Germany, where new heat insulation regulations
were redefined in 1995 in a way, which in practice The use of low emissivity glass has helped
meant standardisation of the use of Low-E glass preserve the energy efficiency of window
in windows. structures and it has thus sustained the trend in
The German regulations are based on energy office and other commercial construction
balance considerations where the heat coming applications which moves towards larger glass
through the window is taken into consideration as surfaces and better daylighting properties. This

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 results in to the high thermal stress in to the the pressure from the market. It is obvious that the
window construction, which can be seen normally tempering machinery manufacturers are thus also
as a glass breakage. The solution to avoid thermal faced with the challenge of developing new
breakage in large window structures is tempering processes which are better and more easily
process, which increases the thermal resistance controlled and allow flexible production of varying
more than two times when compared in to the float large glass sizes and wide thickness variation.
Session 10

glass. Mixed production, which is so important from a

competitive point of view, and the trend towards
shorter delivery times place stringent demands on
streamlined co-operation between glass manu-
facturers, glass processors and manufacturers of
tempering machinery.

Picture 1: Example of the today’s glazing.

Picture 3. Large glass dimensions in construction design

The large glass sizes

and processing
The processing of Low-E in itself requires
special attention and care which in turn
emphasises the responsibility and capability of the
whole process chain like
• durability and lifetime of the coating
Picture 2: Thermal stress in large window application structure.
• transportation
• pre-processing
• tempering process
Ever larger dimensions • post processes.
and processors The machinery manufacturers of the tempering
furnaces will see challenge as it locates in the
The designers and architects have found the middle of process chain.
large windows and shapes as a natural part of their Normally the traditional tempering systems on
design tool. Part of this process has been the need the field will not be sufficient in supporting the
to bring natural day light in to the buildings. The large glass sizes in heating phase. The reason for
large glass surfaces are the most natural way to this is the heat transfer and its ratio in big glass
provide it. Less frames will support the idea of the sizes between the edges and middle part of the
architects in designing the artistically glorious glass. Typically the effect in the furnace is that the
result. large glass size is bending as the middle part of
The forerunners of this have been the the glass will not get enough heat when compare
development mainly in Europe and Far East. in to the sides.
These areas covers more than 90 % of the so This effect can be seen in traditional furnaces
called large sized flat tempering furnaces in the and so called convection furnaces where the high
whole world which is the result of the demand in air flow is increasing the heating of the edges while
the market by building design offices. passing along the edges of the glass (picture 4).
Manufacturers of tempered glass have faced This phenomena is maximised for thin glass and

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LOW-E coatings.
Transfer speed and heat transfer relation
According to the test, experiments and tens of
supplied furnaces in large sizes, the new heating 700 400
technology with feedback calculation are 600 350
controlling the phenomena and the flatness can 300

Speed (mm/s)
500

W/[Link]
250
be reached by focusing the heat (radiation and 400

Session 10
200
convection) with profiles to provide same heating 300
150
speed in the middle part of the glass and near the 200 100
edges (picture 5). 100 50
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Thickness (4-19 mm)

Picture 6. Transfer speed and heat transfer relation.

phase. The large glass sizes in construction field

are more and more including LOW-E coatings. The
driving factors are same as for the flat glass:
• energy control (LOW-E)
Picture 4. Example of the glass bending Picture. • large windows with maximum delighting and
”miniframes”
• new value added products for the market
• bent shapes in buildings and appliances
• increasing safety and security
The bending and tempering in large sizes has
been made traditionally by using
• vertical furnaces with mould or
• box type furnaces with mould
The advantages of the mentioned systems are
reasonable low investment level and on the
contrary high mould cost and low capacity per
glass piece. It natural as the buildings are not
standardised and the glass sizes in the same
building may have various radius and sizes.
The latest technology which has been
Picture 5. Focused heating.
successfully used in high quality OEM /ARG
market for automotive is available for large
It is obvious that the quenching is as important dimensions in architectural applications. The
part as the heating. Typically this part is not taken advantages of the mouldless system are
care or it is not studied by the manufacturers. The • constant radius including IG applications
longitudinal air flows along the whole big glass • repeatability for heat strengthened /tempered and
surface requires an special attention. The air laminated glass
distribution from the top and bottom part of the • radius more than 15 -20 meter under control
quench has to distributed differently than in the • LOW-E capability depending on the heating
normal furnace sized. technology
It is very typical that the large glass sizes are • No mould cost per piece
requested in many thickness and glass type • Flexible production
variations. Depending on the thickness the • Thin glass tempering down to 3. 8 mm
tempering process should be adjustable not only • Flat glass option
for the heating control but also for pressure and When regarding to the heating phenomena it
speed control of transfer speeds. The following can be noted that it is same for bent and flat glass
table (picture 6) shows the study of the relation tempering. Depending on the shape of the glass,
between the transfer speed and heat transfer type and and size the same rules are requested
factor for each thickness variation (large glass size in heating control.
- clear float).
Moudless bending of large glass
Bending process sizes
The bending process of large glass sizes is The bending solution for mouldless bending
common to the flat glass tempering in the heating and tempering requires high repeatability and

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Session 10

Picture 7. Example of the mouldless bending and tempering system for large glass sizes

flexibility which can be reached by References

• mechanically precise solutions (joints, bearings,
1. Jorma Vitkala: Low-E tempering, Glass Processing Days
locking systems..) Proceedings Book 1999.
• bending controlled by a computer 2. Tarmo Pesonen: Combination Convection /Radiation –
• bending of the glass mostly by gravity and views on optimizing the production parameter in glass
tempering, Glass Processing Days Proceedings Book
assisted only ( for example by the press wheel 1999.
system) 3. Factors affecting Stress Formation in glass During the
• controlled air distribution ( area and timing ) on Toughening Process: J.R. Beattie
the large glass surface

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