Call us at 888.619.2226

Tag Archive for: glass

Safelite Auto Glass Drops Manufacturing

/in , /by

Safelite Auto Glass Drops Manufacturing

Safelite Auto Glass Drops Manufacturing

Safelight Auto Glass announced last month that it will cease manufacturing operations by October 10, 2016. The company, based in Columbus, OH, is the nation’s largest auto glass installation company. The company’s manufacturing facility is located in Enfield, NC. As part of the closure, Safelite says that the first layoffs will begin in September.

Auto glass market on the verge of sea change

The decision to drop manufacturing doesn’t mean that Safelite is exiting the auto glass industry, but rather that the company will get its manufactured products from other suppliers. The company’s Enfield facility employs about 200 people and turns out about a million replacement windshields each year. Safelite will focus entirely on its windshield replacement service instead.

According to company officials, the decision to shutter the plant was based on the cost of the investments needed to maintain its position in the replacement windshield industry. Officials at Safelite said that the number of modifications required to meet both consumer demand and new automotive technologies, like Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, led to the plant’s demise.

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems come in a variety of forms, and may include imaging and image processing, computer vision, head-up displays, computer displays, LIDAR, radar and other display technologies. Each vehicle or manufacturer may have its own technologies, which may or may not integrate closely with the vehicle’s windshield. Additionally, auto manufacturers are introducing ADAS technologies at a rapid pace. Driver assistive technologies are currently among the fastest growing segments in automotive electronics.

According to the company, the days of plain glass windshields are numbered. The company’s manufacturing facility could not make the investments necessary to create the large variety of enhanced replacement automotive windshields. The Enfield facility was opened in 1970, but Safelite has made auto glass since 1947.

Other suppliers are expected to fill in the gaps left by Safelite, but it is unlikely that a single glass manufacturer will capture the majority of the ADAS windshield market. Safelite currently manufactures more than 1,000 distinct auto glass products at the plant.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is a specially engineered coating that bonds permanently to glass and other impervious surfaces. If you would like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please see the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Jared Kelly, via Flickr.com

Photovoltaic glass can generate real power

/in , /by

Photovoltaic glass can generate real power

Photovoltaic glass can generate real power

Solar energy is moving to the forefront of the clean energy movement and photovoltaic glass may help bring the technology to more densely populated (and less sunny) areas. Until recently, the state of the solar energy industry was limited by the available collection technology. Solar energy was (and still is) most likely to be successful in areas that receive a lot of direct sunlight throughout the day.

Photovoltaic glass advances could change collectors

That tends to leave out regions like the Northeast, the Great Lakes and the Northwest, which are often under cloud cover. In these parts, solar energy is a passive, supplemental power source, and offers limited benefits.

One way to increase the amount of solar energy collected is to increase the size of the solar collector. In sparsely populated areas, large arrays can be constructed on the ground. This approach is not practical in urban areas, where the population is more densely concentrated.

Advances in the development of photovoltaic glass, however, are changing the established rules that governed where solar collectors are practical. In traditional solar collectors, the photovoltaic glass is dark, primarily to maximize the amount of non-visible light that gets collected. (It’s the non-visible light frequencies that are mostly responsible for heat generation.)

Unfortunately, to make the glass dark enough to harvest this type of solar radiation meant that the glass was too dark to transmit the visible light. This meant that the glass could not be used in windows and in other applications, where transparency is desirable.

New developments in photovoltaic glass include the development of glass that can absorb the invisible light spectrum and direct it toward the edges of the pane, where it can be converted to electricity. This material permits the transmission of visible light, so it can transform any window or glass surface into a solar energy collector. The material is currently about 20% transparent, which is still relatively dark. Further advances, however, could increase the transparency of this glass, and make photovoltaic glass practical for other applications.

In the meantime, another approach to reducing energy costs through glass is to block UV radiation from entering buildings. Glassprimer™ glass paint is specially formulated to bond permanently with glass. The paint is available in any color, and resists peeling, chipping and fading, even in direct sunlight. Reducing solar gain through selective obstruction can reduce energy costs year-round.

If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Pieter Edelman, via Flickr.com

Electrical current has implications for glass

/in , /by

Electrical current has implications for glass

Electrical current has implications for glass

Glass and electricity typically don’t mix. so much so that glass is often used as an insulator. New research into electricity and molten glass may change the way that glass is made. The surprising discovery, made in part by researchers at Lehigh University, shows that an electrical current applied to heated glass can cause the glass to melt at lower temperatures.

Glass can be precisely shaped at lower temperatures

By itself, this has implications for glass fabrication. By reducing the melting point of glass, less energy is required during the heating or reheating stage of glass production or glass recycling. Since glass is usually processed at extremely high temperatures, the notion of reducing energy is welcome.

Beyond reducing the melting temperature of glass, the researchers – working with another research team at the University of Marburg in Germany – discovered that heated glass can be precisely melted at specific points using direct electrical current. The discovery means that glass could be precisely shaped following molding and cooling.

The Marburg researchers had also been working with glass and electricity, and discovered that it was possible to leave an electrical charge on glass, which is normally electrically neutral. Charged glass potentially has some desirable optical and bioactive properties. The combined research team worked together to understand the exact mechanisms that describe their laboratory findings. The team’s findings will be published in the September 2016 issue of the Journal of Electrochemical Society.

With a more complete understanding of the mechanisms at work, the team can now focus on fine-tuning applications for their thermal and electric manipulations of glass in manufacturing.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for some decorative inspiration involving glass, please visit the rest of our site. Glassprimer™ glass paint is an exceptional, specially engineered paint product designed specifically for glass surfaces. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Lehigh University

Brewers tackle glass recycling question

/in , /by

Brewers tackle glass recycling question

Brewers tackle glass recycling question

Much has been made of the glass recycling dilemma lately. Some brewers aren’t waiting to find out how the glass recycling story ends. Instead, they’ve joined forces to help ensure that glass recycling continues despite the cost.

Glass recycling highlights glass benefits

Bottlers are interested in recycling glass because it costs them less to recycle bottles than it does to make bottles from new materials. Lower energy costs mean lower operating costs. This in turn means better profits and an improved ability to tolerate small changes in the cost of production. The recycled content of some container glass is 95% or more, but that typically doesn’t happen in the United States.

About 30% of the container glass in the US actually makes it into the recycling stream. The number could be higher, but many recyclers choose to pulverize the glass and use it for landfill cover instead of truly recycling it.

About 20 major companies that use glass packaging have come together to help ensure the stream of recyclable glass. The US Glass Recycling Coalition consists of consumer goods manufacturers, glass manufacturers, waste and recycling operators, and trade organizations like the Glass Packaging Institute.

The first priority for the coalition is to create, implement and encourage industry-wide best practices that help improve the amount of container glass that makes it into (and out of) the recycling process. One of the first “best practices” is to sort glass out of the recycling stream immediately, instead of waiting to remove it at the end of the sorting process. Removing the glass immediately saves wear and tear on the sorting equipment, decreases the likelihood of breakage, and increases the amount of recyclable glass that gets forwarded to glass recyclers. The long-term goal of the recycling coalition is to reduce energy consumption and to help avoid material shortages in the future.

Glass recycling is part of the growing trend toward using glass. Glass is an exceptionally durable and versatile material for both packaging and decoration. If you’d like some glass inspiration, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Amber and Eric Davila, via Flickr.com

Is This The Perfect Wine Glass?

/in , /by

Last month, we featured the “perfect” beer glass – a glass with a built-in channel to help produce the perfect aroma and head. Today, we present the perfect wine glass. In the case of this glass, “perfect” may be synonymous with spill-proof. SuperDuperStudio, a design studio in San Francisco, used traditional Italian and Scandinavian glass blowing techniques to arrive at what it calls The Saturn Wine Glass.

Hand-shaped molten glass

The glass is handmade, and is hand-shaped in its molten state before it’s blown into its final form with the help of a mold. After molding, the glass is annealed overnight, which allows the glass to cool slowly to relieve stress. This also helps it keep its shape and toughens the finished product. Finally, the perfect wine glass is cut and polished.

If you’ve ever tried to clean up a wine stain, you may have a better appreciation for the perfection of the Saturn Wine Glass. Now, what’s “perfect” for white wine may not be perfect for red wine. Fortunately, the designers at SuperDuperStudio have created two different glasses – one for each kind of wine.

In case you’re wondering what the difference between a red and white wine glass is, consider this. Red wine glasses are typically taller and wider than white wine glasses are. The reason has to do with the wine. Red wine is more complex than white wine, and requires a roomier glass to allow the flavors and aromas to blend perfectly. In either case, the Saturn Wine Glass won’t let you spill either variety.

The glasses are stackable, which allows them to sit more compactly in cupboards and on bar shelves. They’re lead-free, but don’t put them in your dishwasher. Instead, give them the hand-washing treatment and they’ll be yours for a lifetime.

You can find more information about The Saturn Wine Glass here. If you’re looking for more glass inspiration, please visit the rest of our website. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Iconic Glass Structures – The Great Glasshouse

/in , /by
Iconic Glass Structures – The Great Glasshouse

Iconic Glass Structures – The Great Glasshouse

The Great Glasshouse at the National Botanic Garden of Wales is the largest single-span glasshouse in the world. The structure is about 72,000 square feet, most of which is covered by the dome. The 785 panels in the glass dome are operable, and are computer-controlled to optimize solar heat gain for the thousands of endangered plant species inside.

Glasshouse is home to endangered plants

The Great Glasshouse is home to endangered species from six regions of the world, including North America, Australia, South Africa, South America, the Mediterranean and Europe. The Garden’s collection of Mediterranean plants is the largest in the world, outside of natural growth in the Mediterranean itself.

The Great Glasshouse was designed by Foster + Partners, an architectural design firm in the UK. The Great Glasshouse is built into the hills of Carmarthenshire, Wales, and rises among them. The dome is situated on a concrete foundation that is covered by turf. Underground pathways provide access to the dome and the public areas underneath.

The dome was built to be sustainable, and is heated in the winter with a wood-burning biomass furnace. The dome also features a rainwater collection system that supplies “gray water” for irrigation and for the facility’s restrooms. The septic waste is treated onsite and returned safely to the ground.

The frame of the Great Glasshouse is tubular steel, and the panels employ an aluminum glazing system. The central arches of the dome rise perpendicular to the base, and the side arches rise on progressively steeper angles to create the dome’s elliptical shape.

The Great Glasshouse is open year round. The climate inside the dome is controlled to match the natural environment of the plants inside. All of the plants inside the dome share similar environmental needs, but are grouped in sections, according to their places of origin.

The Great Glasshouse is one example of the power of glass in construction. If you’re looking for some glass inspiration, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Charles Stirton , via Flickr.com

Glass bottomed boat tours shipwrecks

/in , /by

Glass bottomed boat tours shipwrecks

Glass bottomed boat tours shipwrecks

If you’re looking for something interesting to do on vacation, consider planning a visit to the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve in Alpena, MI. While you’re there, book yourself on a boat tour of Great Lakes shipwrecks. Given the nature of shipwrecks, you might wonder what you can see from a boat. The sanctuary offers tours using a glass bottomed boat, so you’ll be able to see plenty.

Glass bottomed boat eliminates distortion

There are thousands of shipwrecks in the Great Lakes, and the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary hosts about 200 of them. More than half of the wrecks in the TBNMS are historically significant. The sanctuary received its designation in 2000, and has since been expanded to cover 4,300 square miles of Lake Huron. The TBNMS is one of 13 areas designated as underwater preserves in the State of Michigan. On shore, visitors can learn about the lakes and shipwrecks in the preserve at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center.

Water in the area is very clear and in many spots in the sanctuary the water is shallow, so the glass bottomed boat allows visitors to see the wrecks clearly. Glass bottomed boats give visitors a better, more clear view of the shipwrecks because they eliminate the distortion that occurs when looking directly into the water from the surface.

Shipping was and is a major mode of transportation for both raw materials and finished goods in the Great Lakes region, so the majority of shipwrecks involve commercial liners and transports. Although many of the wrecks in the sanctuary are documented, the area still holds a number of undiscovered wrecks. These ships were known to have been lost in the vicinity, but have not yet been rediscovered.

Many of the wrecks in the sanctuary date to the 18th and 19th centuries, although there are some 20th century wrecks. One of the most recent wrecks, the Nordmeer, was lost in shallow water in 1966 after the pilot made a navigational error. Although the owners intended to refloat the boat, a storm destroyed the hull, so the boat was abandoned as-is in the sanctuary.

A glass bottomed boat tour may not be in your future, but you can still take advantage of glass as a decorating surface in a residential or commercial space. If you’re looking for some glass inspiration, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory , via Flickr.com

Glass recycling strategies emerge

/in , /by

Glass recycling strategies emerge

Glass recycling strategies emerge

Glass recycling is shaping up to be one of the great environmental dilemmas of our time. On one hand, people like to recycle glass. It makes them feel good to know that their glass isn’t going to end up in the landfill. Glass manufacturers and producers like recycling glass. The process reduces their energy consumption, and makes the manufacturing process simpler. The process to make “new” glass from recycled stock can consume about 30% less energy, so there’s real incentive to incorporate recycled glass.

Glass recycling is strategically important but unprofitable

On the other hand, recycling glass is easier said than done. The logistics involved in recycling glass are complicated, often because glass is hard to handle, store and transport. Materials reclamation facilities (MRF) are the first stop for recyclables after they’re picked up at the curb. The glass and other materials are sorted and stored, and therein lies the problem. Glass comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. It’s also not homogenous, so it needs to be sorted. Plate glass (float glass) is different than container glass, and the two materials have to be recycled separately.

And then there’s the issue of breakage. Breakage itself isn’t really a problem, since ultimately, recycled glass does get broken into smaller pieces known as “cullet.” But broken glass is hard to handle when you’re not at the cullet stage.

Recyclers don’t want to devote storage space to glass, or handle the volume of glass that gets broken while in their custody. Complicating the equation is the cost of recycled glass. It’s dropped to the point of being more expensive than new glass, and transportation of glass for recycling is expensive. From an economic standpoint, there’s not much incentive to recycle glass.

Industry groups such as the Glass Recycling Coalition are working to establish best practices for municipal glass recycling programs, partially in an effort to make sure they don’t disappear. One reason that getting the glass recycling question right is important is because people are watching. If the glass they put at the curb for recycling ends up in the landfill, they’re less likely to recycle other materials.

One potential option for glass is reusing it, rather than recycling it. Glass can potentially be incorporated into concrete mixtures, fiberglass and aggregate used in road paving. The future of glass recycling isn’t clear, at this point, but glass is becoming a popular and economical surface for decorating.

Glassprimer™ glass paint is specially formulated to bond permanently to glass. It offers superior UV resistance and when applied according to manufacturer guidelines, is guaranteed to perform for at least 10 years.

If you’d like more information about Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Jon Callow, via Flickr.com

Glass tools were used to make tattoos

/in , /by

Glass tools were used to make tattoos

Glass tools were used to make tattoos

Researchers from the Australian Museum in Sydney have concluded that volcanic glass tools recovered from South Pacific archaeological sites were used to create tattoos. The tools, which are made from obsidian, came from the Solomon Islands.

Tattoos are culturally important in many places, and especially in Pacific Island culture. Researchers haven’t found many well preserved human remains that contain tattoos, but know that the practice is and was widespread.

Glass was available, strong and shapeable

Researchers recreated similar “tattoo tools” using modern obsidian and used them to create tattoos on pigskin over a period of months. Tattooing requires that the skin be broken in order to introduce dyes into open wound.

The ancient glass tools were reshaped to contain specific features, including short, sharp and pointed edges. The researchers created tattoos using materials that would have been commonly available at the time, including charcoal and red ochre.

Once the tools had been used several times, the researchers compared microscopic wear and scratches among both the ancient and modern tools. They found that the glass in both cases showed similar signs of wear. The ancient tools also showed traces of blood, charcoal and ochre.

The finding underscores the importance of the role of glass in ancient cultures that did not have access to metal.

Today, there are better ways of creating tattoos than by using glass! Even if glass has been retired from the stable of options for tattoo work, you can still decorate with glass in other ways.

Glassprimer™ glass paint, for example, offers a great opportunity to create colorful, durable and practical glass installations, including windows, dividers and glass surfaces. Glassprimer™ glass paint is specially designed to make a permanent bond with glass, and won’t chip, peel or fade, even when exposed to direct sunlight.

If you’d like more information about decorating with glass, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: Kevin Walsh, via Flickr.com

Raining glass: no place like home

/in , /by
Raining glass: no place like home

Raining glass: no place like home

We’ve seen stories about falling glass and unexpected glass breakage, but the Hubble Telescope has captured something we’ve never contemplated: glass rain. University of Arizona astronomers were gazing upon a relatively new exoplanet about 160 light years from Earth. The exoplanet, 2M1207b, is huge – between four and five times the size of Jupiter.

Atmosphere generates liquid glass

Like Jupiter, 2M1207b is a gaseous planet. It’s unimaginably hot – somewhere between 2,200° F and 2,600° F to be exact (or as exact as you can be from this distance.) The good news is that it rains on 2M1207b. The bad news is that the average rainstorm lays down molten iron in the lower atmosphere. In the upper atmosphere, a rainstorm generates glass.

2M1207b is actually the first exoplanet to have been imaged directly by the Hubble Space Telescope. The initial images of the planet were taken in 2004 and it’s been studied ever since. The planet is giving off so much heat because it’s so new; it’s still contracting, and will likely do so for millions of years. Astronomers point out that Jupiter and Saturn are still contracting, even though they are much older than 2M1207b. The fact that it is throwing so much heat also makes it easier to see and study.

NASA has found more than 2,000 exoplanets using the Hubble Telescope. In addition to being the first directly imaged exoplanet, it was also the first exoplanet found orbiting a brown dwarf – a type of failed star.

No one’s going to be calling 2M1207b home anytime soon, but exoplanets like this give astronomers some clues about what may have happened during the formation of our own planet and solar system.

Fortunately, we have much better control over glass production here at home than what you’ll find on 2M1207b. Decorating with glass is also much easier with Glassprimer™ glass paint. Glassprimer™ glass paint is designed to make a permanent bond with glass surfaces, and offers superior UV protection for at least 10 years.

No umbrella in the world will help you with the glass storms on 2M1207b, but if you’re looking for ways to decorate with glass here on Earth, please visit the rest of our site. If you’d like to purchase Glassprimer™ glass paint, please visit our online store .

Photo Credit: European Southern Observatory