Technology
Cutting & Grinding
The defects often found when we cut the glass are removed with a process called grinding. The grinding process can give different edgework options and ensure better mechanical strength of the panels and aesthetic results.
Cutting and grinding are carried out through CNC machines of the latest generation ensuring maximum precision.
Serigraphy
Printing is an ancient technique that allows to draw a surface through the use of particular inks and frames.
This process permits to “hide” aesthetically disturbing details.
Thanks to the extreme precision in the use of silkscreen printing techniques Hard Glass is able to make different kind of prints both on flat and curved plates.
Curvature
In order to manufacture curved glass, a glass sheet is put under a gradual heating process at high temperatures, ranging between 500 and 600 º C, after which it softens and adheres by gravity to a mold.
The dimensions of our ovens allow us to obtain curved glass with maximum dimensions: 4500 x 2500 mm
Chemical Strengthening
The chemical reinforcement process, also known as ion exchange, allows to supply glass sheets with an enhanced resistance to mechanical and thermal stress. These glass panels are suitable for al those applications where aesthetics and safety must be accompanied by an excellent mechanical strength.
This process in fact gives the glass performances from 2 to 6 times higher than a simple sheet. With the chemical tempering it is possible to increase with a factor 2 to 6 the hardness in comparison to simple glass sheets.
Lamination
The lamination process begins inside air-conditioned controlled clean rooms where two or more glass and/or polycarbonate sheets are bonded together with plastic interlayers.
Then in an autoclave the laminate is obtained under heat and pressure, allowing the plastic interlayer interposed between the various glass layers to act as an adhesive. This process allows to obtain the final laminated glass, thicker and more elastic.
Dimensions: 4500 x 2500 mm
Xir ® IR Antisolar Glass
Xir laminated glass is the best solution when a protective barrier against the harmful effects of the sun is required.
XIR film is a virtually transparent film incapsulated between two or more glass layers. It helps reducing solar heat gain, increasing comfort, improving fuel efficiency, and reducing interior fading.
Heating System
In some particular atmospheric situations or in specific industrial applications, the transparency of glass becomes a fundamental requirement.
According to the different specific needs, we add the right electric heating systems to laminated glass for defogging or defrosting glass in a short time.
The light transmission does not change compared to a common laminated glass panel.
Hard Glass can supply customized solutions according to different current supply, and power consumption required, both in flat version and in curved version.
No spall version
Through the lamination of scratch polycarbonate layers or special polyester films, all the glass panels produced by Hard Glass can offer no-spall performances, so that the total protection of the nearby people is guaranteed in case of glass breakage.
Insulating Glass Panes
Insulating glass units (IGU) consist of two or more glass panes separated by a vacuum or gas-filled space to reduce heat transfer .
Each glass product manufactured by Hard Glass, both flat and curved, can be supplied in insulating glass unit, increasing the level of thermal and acoustic insulation.
Light weight thermoplastic composite materials
Polycarbonate is known as a high-performance plastic thermopolymer. This material offers peculiar characteristics, such as strength, transparency and lightness. Polycarbonate sheets are as transparent as glass, lightweight, and are 250 times more resistant to shocks. These details make polycarbonate compounds the best partner in security. Hard Glass uses polycarbonate to manufacture different kinds of products.
Polycarbonate sheets can be laminated both alone but also to glass sheets and can be supplied with heated elements, too.