Tempered Glass – The Ultimate Guide

What is Tempered Glass?

Also known as toughened glass, tempered glass is the type of glass that, during its manufacture, undergoes procedures such as thermal control or treatments by chemicals to achieve strength. It is achieved by compressing the glasses’ outer surfaces and putting tension on the interior part. Tempered glasses are made of several layers of glasses compressed to achieve that toughness that is aimed at.

They are generally thicker, although in its thickness comes durability. They do not break, and they are easy to maintain since you can easily wipe off any impurities on the surfaces. Tempered glasses have fine finished edges and are recommended for their safety. These toughened glasses are preferred for devices’ screens for they have a good feel and a quick touch response.

Type of  Tempered Glass?

Black tempered glass, clear tempered glass, grey tempered glass, bronze tempered glass, blue tempered glass, curved tempered glass, glazed tempered glass, frosted tempered glass, tinted tempered glass, switch tempered glass, tempered glass mirror, colored tempered glass, coloured tempered glass, security tempered glass, chemically tempered glass, reflective tempered glass, stained tempered glass.

Type of tempered glass

How Does Tempered Glass Differ from Standard Glass?

Ordinary glass is very contrary to what tempered glass is all about. There are several ways to separate the two, but the primary factor that distinguishes regular glass from tempered glass is that the latter is more robust than the former (about four times stronger). This strength is achieved by how the process of manufacturing is carried out through the thermal exposure and addition of chemicals that eventually make it firmer. An additional significant difference is that tempered glass is safer than normal glass since when damaged, it splits into small, harmless pieces.

Standard glass tends to break all over with pieces going in different directions, which can hinder the safety many people want to achieve from the glass. Normal glass also has a single layer, making it more fragile than multi-layered tempered glass. As for the edges, normal glass has sharp edges that can pierce through flesh easily, while the toughened glass is known for its perfectly defined edges. Tempered glass is also thicker than ordinary glass.

Is Tempered Glass Stronger than Ordinary Glass?

Ordinary glass is less robust than tempered glass as the latter can withstand pressure four times more than standard glass would. The multiple layers are the top contributors to this factor and facilitate a device’s screen’s strength. Ordinary glass is fragile as it is so raw, and it does not undergo any process to toughen it. It explains how regular glass breaks while tempered glass shutters.

Grey tempered glass

Is it Possible for Tempered Glass to be Broken?

Unlike how regular glass would break and shatter into many pieces, tempered glass does the exact opposite. Often referred to as shuttering, it is the response of tempered glass when exposed to too much heat or when involved in physical damage. Shuttering is breaking tempered glass into small pieces that are of no harm to the glass user. The significant difference from infringement is that the shattered parts still hold on together on the entire piece, although they appear as many cracks lying around. Even though a tempered glass might shutter, it still functions on the adapted application, although it will be less efficient.

Clear tempered glass

How Tough is Tempered Glass?

Toughened glass gets its name from how much it can handle. Ten thousand psi of the surface compression and nine thousand seven hundred psi of edge compression are the minimum pressure units that tempered glass can take if exposed to such. With such figures, tempered glass ranks high in the strongest glasses beating the regular glass four times its strength. However, it is not wise to expose such pressure on your toughened glass to prove a point.

Can You Differentiate Between Tempered Glass and Regular Glass by Sight?

So how can you tell if your piece is tempered glass? The fast and straightforward way of checking if a piece is genuinely tempered is by putting your eyes to the test. It only involves a simple procedure, and you will require sunlight to do so. By holding your piece in daylight, then the difference can be spotted since there is only one clear indication.

You’ll need polarized glasses for the procedure, and the primary lookout should be a uniformly spread pattern of either darkened spots or shady lines that extends all through the surface of the glass. These lines indicate the compression of layers of glasses tempered to come up with a toughened glass.

Custom cut tempered glass

Is Tempered Glass Drillable?

In simple words, you cannot drill tempered glass. The actual response upon trial to do this will be a complete shutter of the piece immediately after the drill bit comes into contact with the glass surface. However, that doesn’t settle it if you want to have a hole on tempered glass. If so, you should recommend that in your quote since the only possible way to achieve that is by drilling before tempering to come up with the final product. Once the tempering procedure is underway, then you can no longer drill the glass.

Where Do You Draw the Line Between Laminated Glass and Tempered Glass?

The significant difference between the two lies in the process they individually go through to be manufactured. While tempered glass is put through heat and a series of chemical treatments, laminated glass is born from the same procedure. However, laminated glass goes further to include other processed to achieve a complete product. Laminated glass is a pair of tempered glass or, in some cases, regular glass, which is sandwiched in a special plastic resin that’s clear. It ensures more strength and durability compared to toughened glass.

Furthermore, laminated glass can also be repaired, unlike toughened glass. One distinguishing factor regardless of multiple layers’ similarity is that laminated glass is thinner than tempered glass. As the tempered glass responds to damages, laminated glass also remains intact despite being broken.

Can Tempered Glass Affect the Quality of Display?

A toughened glass will not come against the image quality, the display sharpness, or colors of your screen. They make them more transparent and offer that extra quality that is absent in regular glasses. You are assured of perfect displays when using tempered glass.

Does Tempered Glass Make Screen-Touching Any Better?

The surface of toughened glass is relatively smooth, and when installed on your phone, it makes sliding or tapping at different contents on your phone much more straightforward. It makes the emotional experience way much better.

Are You Able to Cut Tempered Glass to Accurate Size?

You can achieve exact dimensions according to the inquiry of a client on any tempered glass order. However, measurements are usually done before the heating and addition of chemicals strengthen the glass. Cutting and adjusting tempered glass sizes are typically done before the tempering process, although the finishing edges can be done afterward.

Can You Scratch Tempered Glass?

Toughened glass is meant to be strong for proper usage. If appropriately manufactured, the then tempered glass should be scratch resistant. It is primarily because of the smooth aspect of the tempered glass, and the strength is meant to keep away scratches. However, in some cases of insufficient production, you might find some scratches on toughened glass.

Can You Recycle Tempered Glass?

Once used, you can no longer recycle tempered glass. It is because how the glass is produced does not allow you to do any recuts or resizing, making it unable to be recycled. Furthermore, the instance it shutters it can no longer be used again when removed from the device. It is because the shattered particles cannot be reconnected.