can beauty be computed? cold-bent glass provides the answer to this paradox. with the appearance of frozen tension, of brilliant clarity and purity, our glass offers an unbeatable advantage: it freezes the physical properties of the raw glass sheet, because unlike in hot-bending cold-bending doesn’t create a change in structure but only a change in shape. thus enabling structural planning certainty even when dealing with highly unusual shapes.
Complex geometries
Flat planes still dominate in glass construction. But there is an increasing trend in favour of more complex geometries: in favour of curved sheets.
The surface of cold-bent glass demonstrates a degree of smoothness which cannot be attained by hot-bending. The sheets are literally under tension - tension which is sensed and absorbed by anyone who has ever observed such a structure. During the cold-bending process, several sheets of glass are combined to make a laminated safety glass sandwich and then shaped as a glass/film laminate in an autoclave to become a single unit. We generally distinguish between two processes:
The surface of cold-bent glass demonstrates a degree of smoothness which cannot be attained by hot-bending. The sheets are literally under tension - tension which is sensed and absorbed by anyone who has ever observed such a structure. During the cold-bending process, several sheets of glass are combined to make a laminated safety glass sandwich and then shaped as a glass/film laminate in an autoclave to become a single unit. We generally distinguish between two processes:
Cold-bending with shape-enhancing lamination
By using shear-compliant film (PVB film) sheets of glass are mechanically anchored to a shape-fixing substructure, in order to lend permanence to their shape.
Cold-bending with shape-fixing lamination
By using shear-resistant film (SG film by DuPont) shapes are maintained solely on the strength of the film’s shear resistance.
Once laminated in the autoclave, the composite glass sheet permanently retains its geometric curvature without being dependent on a shape-fixing substructure. The load-bearing effect of glass processed using this cold-bending method is almost monolithic. What's more, it is also possible to combine standard toughened safety glass with the entire range of printing and solar control options, enabling curved glass to be used in the design of facades or roofs.
Once laminated in the autoclave, the composite glass sheet permanently retains its geometric curvature without being dependent on a shape-fixing substructure. The load-bearing effect of glass processed using this cold-bending method is almost monolithic. What's more, it is also possible to combine standard toughened safety glass with the entire range of printing and solar control options, enabling curved glass to be used in the design of facades or roofs.
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