Processing & Finishing
Like soda-lime float glass, borosilicate glass can be easily processed such as laminating, coating, printing, sandblasting, double glazing, armouring. Borosilicate glass 4.0 becomes multi-functional in additional to fire resistant. This multi-functional glazing, with borosilicate glass as basis, can be applied everywhere. While functioning like ordinary glass, it also protects safety in the event of fire. Borosilicate glass 4.0 is a superior multi-functional fire proof glass.
Cutting
Cutting of flat fire resistant borosilicate glass can be done by conventional carbide or diamond cutting wheels. Water jet and glass laser cutting machine can also cut the glass easily.
Edge Polishing
Borosilicate glass can be edge polish by a great deal of traditional glass edging machine such as vertical or horizontal glass straight or shape edge polishing machines. CNC glass working machine is also suitable to do the job. Edging tools are metal bond diamond wheels for coarse grinding. Resin bond diamond wheel for fine grinding. Polishing is done by rubber wheels, cerium oxide impregnated wheels and spiral wool felt wheels. Glass edge finishes could be flat edge and seam, arris, chamfer, pencil C round, bevel.
Holes Drilling
Glass holes are drilled by ordinary diamond core drilling bits with traditional vertical or horizontal glass drilling machines. CNC glass working centres and glass laser scribing and drilling can also do the drilling.
Engraving
Glass holes are drilled by ordinary diamond core drilling bits with traditional vertical or horizontal glass drilling machines. CNC glass working centres and glass laser scribing and drilling can also do the drilling.
Bending
Single pane borosilicate glass 4.0 can be thermally 3D shaped bent or curved by bending oven. Single or double curvature is also possible.
Screen Printing
Borosilicate glass 4.0 can be screen printed with stencils. When printed with designed images, it gives anesthetic visual effect. Images could be single or multi-colors.
Sandblasting
Matt surface finish of 40 borosilicate glass can be achieved physically by sandblasting with highly abrasive materials such as garnet and aluminum oxide.
Chemically Acid Etching
Though borosilicate glass is chemically resistant, it can still be etched by certain acid. Fine surface matte finish is obtained. If necessary, it can be non-finger print treated. Etching can be achieved by dipping, bathing, spraying or screen printing.
Surface Lapping
If surface micro-cracks are in issue, borosilicate 4.0 glass surface can be lap polish to reduce invisible cracks to minimum. Surface lapping can obtain very precise flatness and consistency of thickness if perfect flatness and thickness tolerance are extremely tight. Surface lapping can also reduce glass thickness to required level when necessary.
Coating
Reflective solar control and low-e coatings can upgrade borosilicate glass into energy efficient fire proof glass. Coating on 4.0 borosilicate glass can be applied by vacuum thermal evaporation metallization and vacuum magnetron target sputtering. Borosilicate glass 4.0 can also be processed into mirrors by chemical silvering or PVD coated with aluminium. Back paint protective coating on top of the mirror layer is done by glass curtain coating machine. Glass roll coating can also apply full surface of colour painting on borosilicate glass 4.0 surfaces. Dip coating is also one of the usual coating processes if extremely high transparency is a must. Borosilicate glass is loaded into a bath tank filled with special anti-reflective chemical liquid. It is then dried, cured and washed. Visible light transmission rate of anti-reflective treated borosilicate glass 4.0 is increased further for few more percentage. It can be applied for window display, museums and shows rooms where valuable pieces are fire protected.
Spraying
Gun spraying on borosilicate glass 40 panes is also possible. Spraying layer could anti-reflective AR, anti-glare AR and anti-fingerprint AF.
Toughening & Tempering
To achieve International Class E fire rated glass, borosilicate glass 4.0 must be physically or thermally tempered or toughened by glass tempering furnaces. Toughen borosilicate glass panes are also safety glass with higher mechanical impact strength. (Remarks: Xinology provides glass toughening furnace on request.)
Laminating
When single pane 4.0 borosilicate glass is laminated with another piece of soda-lime glass sandwiched by PVB interlayer, it is shatter proof and noise reduction as well.
Armoring
Borosilicate 4.0 glass can also be multi-layers composite laminated as fire protection armor ballistic security protection glass. It can be applied for architectural building construction. When apply for transportation vehicles, light weight 4.0 borosilicate glass, due to its lower density, is absolutely a benefit. It saves fuel energy consumption and increases mobility. Although armor glass is usually very thick, visible light transmission is not affected due to its ultra high transparency.
Double Glazing
Further double glazing turns borosilicate glass into an extraordinary energy save glazing. It cuts infra-red and harmful UV in additional to fire resistant. U value and K value are reduced to very low values.
