Jumbo Toughening

Toughening is what we do, it’s in our name and it’s what we’re known to be the best at doing.

With an unparalleled toughening capability consisting of three furnaces, including the latest Glaston FC500, capable of toughening a full Jumbo sized sheet, Supertuff can meet the needs of most projects.

Toughening glass is an art we believe we have perfected but in reality furnaces in themselves will not guarantee flat, well-tempered glass. What makes us unique is our expert furnace operators. Our team of people is what sets us apart, their experience and knowledge of glass tempering is an invaluable asset which enables us to supply the highest grade Toughened Glass.

Supertuff will support you in meeting your Critical Glazing Building Regulation obligations too. Laminated Glass, Tempered Toughened Glass and Heat Strengthened Glass are all ‘Safety Glass’ solutions provided by Supertuff, all of which can be tailored to your project and exact specification.

All our products and systems are stress tested, and rigour applied in commercial and civil environments where Health & Safety regulations are mandatory. Tempered Glass is manufactured when standard annealed or ‘Float Glass’ is heated past its annealing point of around 720 C and then rapidly cooled.

The process transforms the glass so in the event of accidental impact it breaks down into small, blunt harmless pieces of glass thus reducing the risk of human injury.

Being up to five times stronger than equivalent annealed glass panels, it also offers greater resistance to sudden temperature changes and windy conditions.

The process also allows specific design requirements so any holes, edging or processing needed can be discussed with our team ahead of production and will be carried out prior to the tempering process. The nature of ‘toughening’ glass means that after tempering, the glass cannot be altered in any way so any design requirements should be planned.

APPLICATIONS

  • Commercial Fronts
  • Roof Glazing
  • Balustrades
  • Glass Doors
  • Glass Stairs
  • Glass Floors
  • Shower Screens

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

  • Tested to BS EN 12150 & BS EN 12600
  • Maximum Size: 6000mm x 3210mm
  • Thickness Range: 4mm to 19mm

HEAT-STRENGTHENED GLASS

Wind and Heat!

Toughened Glass is a great solution for most applications however, when the glass is likely to be exposed to greater wind loads or higher thermal stress, it is widely recommended to use Heat Strengthened Glass.

The heat strengthening process increases the mechanical and thermal strength of the glass, increasing its resistance and making it twice as tough as Tempered Glass.

The process is similar to that of the traditional process of glass tempering but the cooling cycle is less rapid; the heating temperature remains the same for both processes. Due to the relatively lower rate of cooling during the heat strengthening process, Heat Strengthened Glass develops less stress as compared to fully Tempered Glass.

APPLICATIONS

  • Building Facades
  • Laminated Skylights
  • Laminated Solariums
  • High Wind Load Areas

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

  • Maximum Size: 6000mm x 3210mm
  • Thickness Range: 4mm to 12mm

Heat Strengthened Glass is recommended for designing building facades, skylights (when laminated with Tempered Glass) and solarium’s. It’s typical radial breaking properties also ensure meeting maximum safety standards because the glass remains in the frame. 

Heat Strengthened Glass has even higher quality surface characteristics, as compared to Tempered Glass. Moreover, Heat Strengthened Glass eliminates the risk of occasional spontaneous breakage, which can occur as a result of Nickel Sulphide inclusions in Tempered Glass.

It is important to note that Heat Strengthened Glass on its own does not meet the criteria of a Safety Glass product as defined by building regulations and should not be used in Critical Glazing locations.

WHY USE TOUGHENED GLASS

Safety Material

Toughened Glass, when broken, shatters into cube-shaped particles. It therefore qualifies as a Safety Glazing material.

Greater Strength

Toughened Glass offers greater strength against impact compared to Annealed Glass thus offering increased resistance to the force of wind. It is even more effective when placed within a well-designed, overall glazing system.

Increases Edge Strength

The toughening process increases the panes edge strength. In cases where a Tempered Glass does shatter the process forces the glass into small cubes, reducing the risk of serious deep cuts and injury.

HEAT SOAKED GLASS

Perfecting imperfections!

Due to the nature of the glass manufacturing process, all Float Glass eventually contains some level of imperfection. A typical imperfection is Nickel Sulfide inclusion (NiS), a Nickel contaminant in the glass, whilst very rare these can cause spontaneous breakage in fully Tempered Glass.

The ‘heat soaking’ of glass is an additional process performed under testing method EN 14179, on Toughened, Tempered Glass units, it reduces the risk of spontaneous breakage due to Nickel Sulphide Inclusion.

The process is utilized to expose NiS inclusions in Tempered Glass. It involves placing Tempered Glass inside a heat soak chamber and raising the temperature to approximately 290°C. This accelerates Nickel Sulfide expansion, causing glass containing Nickel Sulfide inclusions to break in the heat soak chamber and thus reducing the risk of potential breakage later. 

Heat Soaked Glass is still certified as a Safety Glass and the strength, appearance and thermal resistance of a Toughened Glass unit are not reduced under the heat soaking process.

Heat Soaking is an additional process and while we recommend this process, please discuss your product specifications with your account manager prior to placing your order. 

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

  • A Safety Glass tested to EN 14179 with reduced risk of spontaneous breakage due to Nickel Sulphide Inclusion
  • Maximum Size: 6000mm  x  3210mm
  • Thickness Range: 4mm to 19mm

APPLICATIONS

  • Roof Glazing
  • Balustrades
  • Glass Doors
  • Glass Stairs
  • Glass Floors
  • Shower Screens
  • Commercial Fronts

Toughened glass delivers serious benefits when it comes to safety and standards

TOUGHENED OWN GLASS

Want to Toughen Up?

Supertuff supports small and medium sized glass companies and can provide a toughening service to your own processed glass – up to 19mm thickness to BS EN 12150 Standard. The glass will be assessed prior to tempering to ensure it meets tempering and regulatory standards.

For more information about this service and prices, please contact us.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

  • Thickness Range: Up to 19mm to BS EN 12150 Standard

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