What is Tempered Glass and How is it Used in Cars?

Tempered or toughened glass is a type of safety glass processed through controlled heat or chemical treatments to increase its strength compared to normal glass. Learn more about how tempered glass is used in cars.

What is Tempered Glass and How is it Used in Cars?

Tempered glass, also known as toughened glass, is a type of safety glass that has been processed through controlled heat or chemical treatments to increase its strength compared to normal glass. This process causes the outer surfaces of the glass to compress and the inner surfaces to tension, making it more robust than laminated glass. Tempering allows the glass to withstand greater force without breaking, making it unbreakable. It is commonly used in car windows other than the windshield. Single-layer tempered safety glass is often used in place of laminated safety glass due to its cost-effectiveness and lighter weight.

It meets the increasingly stringent safety requirements set by federal and state governments. It has been suggested that the function of layering safety glass on the windshield is not only to prevent the glass from breaking into dangerous fragments when it breaks, but also to keep the car's passenger inside the car during an accident. The last step in manufacturing safety glass is to use layers of tempered glass around a vinyl center. The coat material is so strong and elastic that it often does just that. This type of glass is single-layered, but treated by heating and cooling it quickly, creating millions of tiny air bubbles all over the glass.

Laminated glass can be found in all kinds of shapes and “locations”, including high-rise windows, balconies, skylights, frameless glass railings, and vehicle windshields. The main difference between tempered and laminated glass is that tempered glass is a single piece of glass, while laminated glass consists of two (or more) sheets of glass surrounding a layer of plastic film. The manufacturing process of tempered glass results in hard and strong glass compared to untreated glass of the same thickness. Mobile glass replacement companies can change or repair a windshield or any other glass in your car in about an hour. In addition, it bends much more than ordinary glass before it breaks, which means it can twist (for example, when the car body bends) where other glass cannot be twisted. Photography and digital imaging have become common options for incorporating design elements into architectural glass, and laminated glass has become the best option for incorporating such design elements. Safety glass was heavier than flat glass, and when raised and lowered through the side windows, problems arose.

General Motors, through its subsidiary Fisher Body, purchased the National Plate Glass Company of Ottawa, Illinois, and the Saginaw Glass Company of Saginaw, Michigan. Gradually, man learned to make truly transparent glass using pure basic materials, but for a long time he could do this only by pouring it into a mold. Then someone (either by accident or genius) learned that it is possible to “blow” glass. The company Libbey Owens (later called Libbey Owens Ford) developed a technique in which molten glass was heated to a precise temperature, at which it was still molten but cooled enough to be removed from the pot.