Glass is something we
all take for granted-we see it everywhere in an ever increasing range of
shapes, colours and sizes and for too many uses to list or count, but does
anyone ever give it a thought as to how it is made?
The Float glass
manufacturing process was first trialled in the late 1950s but it was not until
the early 1960s that it started to be used commercially and by the 70s the
older more expensive plate glass manufacturing process was very rare. The Float
glass process is renowned for producing perfectly flat,
flaw-free glass.
The process begins with a batch of fine-grained ingredients,
closely controlled for quality, which flows into a furnace heated to around
1500 degrees c. The raw
materials begin a 6 stage process along production lines that can be 500 metres
long and out of the other end comes perfectly flat, flaw-free glass. Glass dimensions are now more wide ranging
than ever; thicknesses range from 0.4mm to 25mm and can be up to 3 metres in
length. Of course with a process as complex as this, the variety of treatments
and or coatings that can be applied and the quality required in the finished
product every stage of the process has to be carried out with precision and
monitored throughout. The GQA Level 2 Certificate in Glass Manufacturing has
been written with the Industry to ensure there are units for those involved in
any or all of the stages of Manufacture.
For details of GQA’s Glass Manufacture qualification
and Centres approved to offer it visit www.gqaqualifications.com
