Toughened Glass Suppliers & Manufacturers

Toughened safety glass is ordinary float glass that has undergone a process to make it more resistant to damage, making it much harder to break by either accident or force, than ordinary glass panes. Toughened glass is used for its safety and strength in a variety of applications

Also sometimes referred to as tempered glass, toughened glass is manufactured by a process called tempering, where annealed glass is heated up to a temperature of around 620°C within a furnace, followed by a process of cooling using jets of cold air. This heating and cooling process alters the chemical structure of the glass and results in the glass becoming 5 times stronger and resistant to impact.

By its nature when toughened glass does break, it breaks into small, blunt, square shaped pieces, which are due to stress patterns within the glass. Thus there are no sharp edges to cause damage or injury in the event of any incident where the glass is shattered.

Any glass must be cut to size before undergoing the toughening process, as well as any additional processing such as cut outs, drilling or notches. These processes need to be undertaken before the glass is toughened as it would shatter if it was cut or machined once in its toughened form.

Added Benefits of Toughened Glass

Whilst retaining the same visible light transmission as float glass, toughened glass has additional benefits in that it is more resistant to temperature differences and thermal shock, so can be used in locations that suffer from wind, snow and heavy loading.

Toughened glass has extremely varied applications both internally and externally in both commercial and residential settings, including glass facades, glass partitioning, doors and entrances as well as for glass furniture such as table tops.

Toughened safety glass thickness from 4-12mm can be used to provide additional safety in applications such as shower screens, partitioning and components for the shop fitting industry.

Toughened safety glass thicknesses from 15-19mm are often used in structural applications such as balustrades and canopies.

Toughened glass products can also be laminated for additional safety and security, with Heat Soak testing available to BS EN 14179.