Glass is a historic material, even now, the basic glass manufacturing principle is virtually unchanged, though the process

has evolved following advances in technology used. Glass & Coating Manufacture Industrial manufacture : The float process Magnetron coating

Traditional manufacture : Blown glass Traditional cast glass Drawn glass

THE FLOAT PROCESS

Float glass is a sheet of glass made by floating molten glass on a bed of molten metal, typically tin, although lead and various low melting point alloys were used in the past. This method gives the sheet uniform thickness and very flat surfaces. Modern windows are made from float glass. Most float glass is soda-lime glass, but relatively minor quantities of specialty borosilicate and flat panel display glass are also produced using the float glass process. The float glass process is also known as the Pilkington process, named after the British glass manufacturer Pilkington, which pioneered the technique (invented by Sir Alastair Pilkington) in the 1950s.

1. BATCH PLANT Four raw maerials are used in the manufacture of glass: -sand

-soda -lime -culet (25% broken glass)

For certain glass types: -Metallic oxides to add a coloured tint to the glass. -Magnesium or Aluminium to increase its resistance to atmospheric agents.

2. Furnace
The raw materials are first melted down in the furnace at 1550 degree to remove any impurity and bubbles. The furnace is a wide tank made of refractory materials and holds up to 2000 tonnes of molten glass. The glass is fired from above from alternating sides using natural gas / furnace oil and waste gases, which are re- used to pre-heat the air on the opposite side.

3. TIN BATH Molten glass from the furnace flows on to the surface of a bath of molten tin under controled atmosphere. The glass spreads onto the tin forming a ribbon of uniform thickness and viscosity. The ribbon is pulled through the float to the lehr, resulting in a continuous supply of glass. The thickness of the ribbon depends on the speed, angle and penetration of the top rollers and the speed through the lehr. Tin is used due to its low reactivity with the glass and the bath contains ~200 tonnes of tin at a depth of 55-80mm.

4. PYROLITIC COATINGS At the exit of he float bath, the ribbon og glass is at 600 degree. A transparent layer of metallic oxides are deposited onto the hot glass. This special coating is named pyrolitic and is integrated into the surface of the glass itself to ensure a high level of durability. Pyrolitic coatings can offe low emissivity, solar control or self cleaning properties. 5. THE ANNEALING LEHR At the end of the float, its rigid enough to be lifted by lift rollers to the lehr. The glass in the annealing lehr is cooled gradually inorder to release internal stresses.

6. CUTTING The cooled glass ribbon moves to the cutting area. First the glass thickness and defects are monitored by an online laser detection system. Then the ribbon is automatically cut into standard sheet dimensions.

7. STACKING AND TRANSPORT The stacking method depends on the size of glass sheets produced. Each sheet is coated with a special powder to prevent scratches and improve durability. Then it is stacked and ready for transport to customer.

MAGNETRON COATING
The magnetron coating was discovered in 1852 and involves the cathodic sputtering of metallic coating under vacuum conditions. Nowadays, sputtering is widely used throughout to crate soft coated products.

1. CLEANING The sheet of glass is cleaned in the automatic washing machine using roller brushes, sprays, scrubbing bridges and air knives. It is essential that the glass surface is perfectly clean to avoid any coating defects.

2. MAGNETRON COATINGS The glass passes through a tightly sealed pumping chamber, in which the vacuum is formed. Multiple layers of metals, metal and non-metal oxides and nitrides are then applied to the glass using a magnetically enhanced cathodic sputtering method. The resultant nanoscopically thin and transparent coating offers thermal insulation and/or solar control properties.