What Type of Glass is Used in Car Windshields?

Windshields are made of laminated safety glass, which is a combination of a piece of plastic sandwiched between two layers of glass. All three layers are sealed together and air pockets removed using rollers or vacuum systems.

Automatic glass

is tempered or laminated. The glass generally used for the front and rear door windows and the rear window are made of tempered glass, while the windshield is made of laminated glass.

Laminated glass is designed to withstand extreme impacts without breaking, helping to prevent injuries from flying shards of glass or passengers being thrown through the windshield. Tempered glass is four to five times stronger than before the tempering process and is most commonly used in passenger windows of cars, while laminated glass forms the front and rear windshields most of the time. When tempered glass breaks, it is designed to break into small pieces that are less likely to cause additional injury or damage. Laminated glass is made up of two pieces of glass, with a thin layer of vinyl between them.

The three pieces are laminated together by applying heat and pressure in a special oven called an autoclave. Safety glass is used in all automotive glass and is made to reduce the likelihood of injury, if broken. Automotive glass is exceptionally durable and responsible for 60% of the car's structural integrity in rollover accidents, while absorbing 45% of the crash impact during a head-on collision. Glass can serve multiple purposes depending on consumer requirements, and automotive glass is one of them.

The tempering process makes glass many times stronger than untempered glass of the same thickness. However, in severe impact situations, the glass “breaks”, but it usually does not separate because broken glass pieces generally adhere to the vinyl inner liner. Different types of glass are used throughout the vehicle because each type of glass has a different purpose. Allstar Glass Corporation provides automotive glass services, including windshield repair, replacement or tinting, at prices you can afford.

This glass meets original safety and quality specifications such as factory glass. It can be treated with chemicals and heat treatments to give it more balanced internal stress capabilities and can also be repaired if necessary. Automotive glass offers strength, durability, flexibility and versatility that make it an ideal choice for car windshields. Laminated safety glass provides the highest levels of safety in the event of an accident and tempered glass helps reduce the likelihood of injury if broken.