You’ve probably heard that tempered glass is stronger than “regular” glass – but what does that even mean anyways? We’re here to explain! First off, what is glass even made of? 

To keep it simple – natural and raw materials such as sand, recycled materials, soda (AKA sodium carbonate or washing soda) and limestone are used to make the panes of glass that are put into windows and doors. 

Tempered glass is about four times stronger than “regular” glass. Unlike regular glass that shatters into large, jagged chunks, tempered glass will fracture into small pieces. To make tempered glass, the materials go through a different manufacturing process. 

A finished piece of “regular” glass is taken through another step of being heated to an extremely high temperature and then cooled with high-pressured air in a process called “quenching”. The controlled change from hot to cold temperatures strengthens the outer surface of the glass pane while its centre cools. As a result, the centre remains in tension, and the outer surface will compress to create tempered glass. 

Because of its strength, tempered glass is used in a huge variety of everyday items and applications! Side and rear windows in vehicles, entrance doors, shower doors, patio tables, microwave doors and skylights are all made with tempered glass.

InvisiRail’s in-house glass shop can cut, temper, laminate and heat-soak glass for a variety of custom applications If you can dream it up, we can make it a reality! Contact us today for a custom quote.