If we check the glass market, we will find out that glass manufacturers are focusing their production on thin glass, thinner and thinner, in bigger plates too.
As a consequence, manufacturers of machinery align to requirements, offering equipment suitable to process glass 0.5-0.7 millimetres thick.
But for what?
Thin glass means less weight, not just for flooring, but it is highly demanded in the nautical and aeronautical industry, where reducing the load is a crucial matter, a decisive one, as in many other applications.
From studies and tests carried out in the production of double glazing, it turned out that the use of one thin glass inside the insulating glass unit, dramatically reduces the thermal conductivity, as if there was a wall inside.
That’s all?
Definitely not. Reliable machines are required because thin glass is fragile, thus you have to make it safe. And RCN SOLUTIONS can supply kilns to manufacture safety glass.
What is needed?
A chemical tempering plant to make glass mechanically more robust, with perfect optical vision, without distortions. The ionic exchange between the sodium ions of the glass and the ions of the liquid potassium salts inside the tank, is the only system to temper razor-thin glass – even lower than 3 millimetres – granting flat surface and resistance to flexure of 250(N/mq) on a glass of a few millimetres of thickness.
That’s all??
Really not. Chemically tempered glass, although stronger, breaks like a monolithic glass, thus it requires lamination, namely the process for which one or more glass panes are coupled by means of a laminating interlayer, in order to have a safety glass.
There is still something to focus attention on, for instance the possibility to chemically temper curved glass, and also that thin tempered glass can be bent cold.
It is also important to draw the attention on something often taken for granted, but that is not always evident: The quality of machinery and of consumables used in production make the difference in the quality of the end product. So, you need to rely on a partner that can grant added value products and that is available to listen to customers’ projects.
In such a context, RCN, having a long experience in the glass sector, works to supply consistent quality and active service to its clients.