Architectural Glass Products Secondary Processing

The following types of processing are high volume and predominantly performed by glass manufacturers.

Coating (off-line)

Off-line processes use a vacuum coating technology called sputtering. A 'target' material is bombarded to produce atoms which are deposited on the glass. This process is used to make products such as Pilkington Optitherm™ and Pilkington Suncool™.

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Laminating

Plies of glass are bonded or laminated together with a layer of polymer film in between. By using heat and pressure, air bubbles are eliminated from the laminate so that it appears optically as a single sheet of glass. Mechanically, however, it is more robust: if the laminate is fractured, the broken glass shards are held together and are less likely to cause injury.

Laminated glass is used in safety and security applications.

Silvering

Float glass is made into mirrors in a process which deposits a thin film of high purity silver on one surface of the glass. A further thin film is then deposited to protect the silver from oxidation. Finally, a ceramic paint is applied. This is the process by which Pilkington Optimirror™ Plus is made.