Toughened Glass / Tempered Glass

Toughened Glass also known as tempered glass is up to five times stronger than Standard Float Glass / Annealed Glass, offering the highest impact resistance.  

Toughened glass is a type of Safety Glass, as it can withstand strong direct impacts and if it does break, instead of breaking into sharp jagged pieces, it does so into small blunt granules.  These granules are less likely to cause injury. Toughened Glass is rated as Grade A safety glass in accordance with AS/NZ 2208 and other international standards.   

Float Glass vs Toughened Glass, what is the difference? Float glass is the most commonly used type of glass in New Zealand homes.  This type of glass often goes on to get further treatments or coatings to become different types of glass.  Toughened glass is Float Glass which has been toughened.

How is toughened glass made?  Before beginning the glass toughening process, the glass must be cut to the desired size.  This is because it cannot be re-worked once toughened.

Next the annealed glass goes through a heat treatment process, to increase its strength. The glass is heated at high temperatures (650°C), then cooled very quickly.  As a result, the outer surfaces go into compression and the interior remains in tension, which gives toughened glass (tempered glass) its strength.  

For more information on Toughened Glass, CLICK HERE