Industry Insider: Top Glass Headlines

Colorwerks

Designers, architects and interior decorators now have the ideal alternative to granite, steel, stone and tile. 

Colorwerks is the greenest alternative in double-coated colored glass in today's market. Other green benefits of Colorwerks include:

• Lead-free and isocyanate-free fabrication
• Contribution towards LEED credits
• Reduction of toxic outgassing through the heat curing process
• Decrease in use of adhesives and mastics by applying fasteners
   

Talk to one of our representatives to learn more.

Glasswerks is NOW a Guardian SunGuard Select Fabricator

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The conference is only one of GANA's annual Glass Week events which will take place at the Paris Las Vegas Resort from March 22-29.

If you are attending the BEC Conference, please be sure to email glasswerks@glasswerks.com with the Subject Line "BEC" so we can send you a sneak peek of our products on display, as well as special updates as we prep for the show.

To learn more about Glass Week and the BEC Conference, below are a few helpful links:
Glass Week Website
BEC Conference Website: Registration & Pricing Information
Register Now

Since its discovery and development, glass has been know more for its inherent "fragility" than its "durability". Not anymore.   

Thanks to a recent breakthrough achieved through the collaborative effort between Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology (Cal-Tech), the definitive properties of "glass" may soon need to be revised.

A notched, glassy palladium sample does not shatter after severe bending, despite the generation of multiple cracks. [Credit: LBNL/Maximilien E. Launey]

On Jan. 12, 2011, the team announced that metallic glass--a material stronger than steel--had been successfully manufactured. It is now the strongest man-made material ever achieved.
 

Like others in the glass manufacturing and construction industry, we at Glasswerks have been closely following this story. We manufacture a line of bullet-resistant and hurricane-resistant glass, as well as tempered glass; however, the story of a glass material stronger than steel was news, and it spread quickly, landing on the New York Times and even on the consumer electronic and tech outlet, cnet. Projections about the future applications of metallic glass--from laptops and cell phones to home roofing--had also begun to pop up. 

Glasswerks Bullet Resistant Glass

However, before we got swept away by our own excitement, we took a deeper look. After further research, we uncovered a few facts about the innovative material that begs the question: Is "metallic glass" really glass at all? 

 Here are a few facts you may not have known about the absolutely astounding metallic glass.

The Facts:

• Metallic Glass is not transparent. - Marios Demetriou, a materials engineer at Caltech and the study's lead author, explains, "Despite its name, it is this internal structure that is the only glasslike thing about metallic glass: the material is not transparent...and is both optically and electronically like metal."

The Caltech article expounds, saying, "What gives metallic glasses their unusual qualities is the fact that they are made of metals-with the inherent toughness that comes with that class of material-but have the internal structure of glass, and thus its strength and hardness."

• Metallic Glass is an alloy. - It is made of noble metal palladium, a small fraction of silver, and a mixture of other metalloids. Neither float glass nor any other building elements of glass are used in fabricating the metallic glass.
   
• Metallic Glass is not new. - It was first developed in 1960's at Caltech, however it had limiting factors--namely its tendency to shatter--which were not overcome until now.

For years scientists had assumed that the toughness of metallic glass would never exceed that of the toughest steels. However,

the Caltech scientists made a startling discovery: creating more of the problem became the solution.  

In the new palladium alloy, so many shear bands form when the material is put under stress that it "actually leads to higher toughness, because the bands interact and form networks that block crack propagation." In other words, the material, when put under more stress, only further prevents cracks from forming, rendering the material virtually flawless. This proves, quite poetically, what doesn't kill metallic glass, only makes it stronger.

Additional Resources:

• It looks a lot like glass, but it's tough as steel - NY Times
• Caltech-led team creates damage-tolerant metallic glass - Caltech
• New metallic glass promises super strength - cnet

Make your next glass purchase count. Begin earning points per purchase!  

Glassperks is the first customer rewards program in the glass industry. The idea is simple: For every $100 you spend with Glasswerks you get  2 points* which you can use towards sporting goods, electronics, housewares, apparel and more! 

There's no catch, there are no hidden fees and your points never expire.

*By cash or check only. Customers paying by credit card will receive one (1) Glassperks point per every $100 spent.  Only applicable on glass items. Taxes, energy surcharge,

hardwares, crating, freight , etc. not included.

DuPont™ SentryGlas® ionoplast interlayers

Learn more about Glasswerks' Laminated Glass, Bullet Resistant Glass and Hurricane Resistant Glass.

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As much as we love sending you news, we love hearing from you even more. Please never hesitate to shoot us an email with any suggestions, converse with us on Facebook or Twitter, or even give us a call if you need any immediate assistance. We're here for you.

                                                    
   

Ed Rosengrant