High-Performance Glass Used in Daily Life

Recently, with increasing energy-saving awareness, insulating glass units have gradually begun to spread to homes, but processed glass such as tempered glass and laminated glass has been used in daily life without buyers being aware of it. The most familiar place where various types of high-performance processed glass are used is automobiles.

Glass used for automobile windshields is laminated glass that resists penetration by flying objects and prevents fragment scattering even when broken. In JIS tests for automotive safety glass, headform (human head model) penetration resistance tests are conducted to ensure passengers are not easily ejected during accidents.

Next, side glass for driver's seat, passenger seat, etc. appears to be ordinary glass but is tempered glass with high strength that breaks into granular fragments. Even if door opening/closing becomes difficult due to accidents or submersion, breaking the side glass with an emergency hammer causes the entire glass to shatter, instantly securing an escape route. Creating a hole large enough to escape through the windshield (laminated glass) takes considerable time.

The remaining rear glass is also tempered glass like side glass, but this glass has printed heating wires to remove fogging by heating. This allows fog removal and securing visibility even in the rear where air conditioning has difficulty reaching.

And depending on the vehicle model, almost all of these glass pieces are subjected to bent glass processing that creates gentle curves. In other excellent types, color shades or interlayers with solar shading effects are used in the windshield interlayer, or the glass itself is tinted glass (heat-absorbing glass), and various high-performance glass is used to ensure safety and comfort even in harsh outdoor environments.