Manufacturing Capabilities
Tempering
- A highly energy-efficient tempering furnace
- Production does not require environmentally damaging SO2
- Glass is four times stronger than standard annealed glass
- Glass breaks into small dice-sized pieces, minimizing injury
- Glass cannot be further processed after tempering
The tempering process toughens the glass and hardens its surface. Tempered glass is approximately four times stronger than regular annealed glass of the same thickness and breaks into small, relatively harmless dice-size pieces. Tempered glass is a safety building material meeting the requirements for ANSI Z97.1 and the Consumer Product Safety Commission Standard 16 CFR 1201.
The tempering process begins with standard annealed glass, cut to size and fabricated with the specified edge treatment, holes, notches, etc. The glass is then carefully cleaned, transferred to the tempering oven, and heated until it reaches a softening point at approximately 1,200° F. At this critical point, the glass is moved to the "quench" and rapidly cooled by high-pressure jets of air. The quench cools the outer surface of the glass more quickly than the center. As the center cools, it attempts to pull back from the cooler outer surfaces. This results in a center in tension and outer surfaces in compression, giving tempered glass its strength.
Bendheim employs a highly energy-efficient tempering oven. Unlike most other tempering furnaces, its advanced oscillating drive system eliminates the use of sulfur dioxide (SO2), known to produce acid rain and cause permanent pulmonary damage. Specialized noise-reduction housing surrounds the cooling quench area of the tempering oven to minimize sound pollution and provide a community-friendly work environment.
Watch A Video Describing the Tempering Process (1:22 mins)
Heat Strengthening
- A highly energy-efficient tempering furnace
- Production does not require environmentally damaging SO2
- Glass is two times stronger than standard annealed glass
- Heat strengthened glass is not classified as a safety glass
Similar to tempering, the heat strengthening process begins with standard annealed glass, cut to size and fabricated with the specified edge treatment, holes, notches, etc. The glass is then carefully cleaned and transferred to the tempering oven until it reaches approximately 1,200° F. At this point, the glass is moved to the "quench" and rapidly cooled by air jets. A lower air pressure is applied than during tempering, resulting in a glass that is approximately two times stronger than regular annealed glass of the same thickness. Heat strengthened glass is NOT safety glass.
The same energy-efficient, environmentally-sensitive tempering furnace producing Bendheim safety tempered glasses is employed in the manufacture of our heat strengthened glass.
Lamination
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Lamination allows all Bendheim glasses to be offered as safety building products meeting the requirements for ANSI Z97.1, the Consumer Product Safety Commission Standard 16 CFR 1201, and ASTM C1172. Standard annealed, heat-strengthened, or tempered glass lites are permanently bonded together with an EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) or PVB (polyvinyl butyral) interlayer under controlled heat and pressure.
Bendheim's newest lamination machinery can produce a virtually unlimited range of custom decorative laminated glasses, including but not limited to: metal meshes, fine fabrics, and custom printed interlayers. Additionally, these glasses can be specified with almost any color or opacity interlayer.
Bendheim also manufactures resin laminated glass. The liquid resin is poured into the cavity between the two lites of glass, cured, and permanently bonded to the glass. Liquid resin lamination is often used for glasses of uneven thickness or with pronounced surface pattern, such as our mouth-blown Lamberts art glasses.
Watch A Video Describing the Lamination Process (1:52 mins)
Color Coating (Back Painting)
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Color Coating allows us to offer most Bendheim specialty glasses in the entire spectrum of color for wall cladding, elevator interiors, backsplashes, and counter tops. Color coated glass can be tempered or laminated.
Bendheim's color coating utilizes specialty water-based paints to create an environmentally-friendly, safe, enduring, and VOC-free product for improved indoor air quality.
CNC
Glass pieces from 24" x 24" to 50" x 110" can be cut into complex shapes with cutouts, engraving, V-grooving, and polished using Bendheim's advanced computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine.
Water-Jet Cutting
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Bendheim's new extra-large capacity water-jet cutting machine speeds production on specialty-cut orders, templates, cut-outs, holes and notches, and allows production of extremely complex shapes. Equipped with a dynamic cutting head, it allows precision-cutting of curves and corners at straight 90-degree angles, independent of the object's thickness. In addition to glass, the water jet cuts metal, stone and composite materials. This advanced capability allows Bendheim to offer more than 2,000 varieties of decorative glasses to the architectural community, including our Lamberts' mouth-blown art glasses, in precision-cut and laminated form.
Notching
Notches and other cutouts are created using Bendheim's advanced CNC or Water-jet cutting machines. The standard finish on the interior of notches and other cut-outs has a ground edge appearance, exhibiting an even, smooth surface. For radius cut-outs or corners, the radius must be equal to or greater than the thickness of the glass.
V-Grooving
Available in polished or satin smooth finish for glasses 1/4" or thicker, this versatile process can be utilized to create one-of-a-kind geometric designs in glass.
Engraving
Inscriptions, including names and slogans incorporating custom fonts, can be transferred to Bendheim glass through this engraving technique.
Hole Drilling and Countersink
Round, square, countersunk, stepped, and shaped holes can be cut into most glass types. Bendheim's multiple capabilities for cutting holes in glass - Drill Presses, CNC and Waterjet machines - allow us to offer special shaped holes and tight tolerances to meet your requirements.
Template / Shape Cutting and Polishing
Customer-supplied custom templates allow us to create a virtually unlimited range of specialty shapes. Custom templates can be provided by the customer in electronic format (AutoCAD DXF), or as physical templates. Physical templates must be light in color and constructed of cardboard, wood, sheet metal, or similar, not to exceed 3/4" thickness.
Edge Treatments
Bendheim's advanced CNC (computer numerical control) capabilities allow us to offer a variety of decorative glass edges.
Click Here to View Available Edge Types
