You know that your windscreen is on the front of your car to block the wind, hence the name “wind screen,” but it also protects you and your passengers from dirt and debris. Can you imagine how much dirt and how many bugs you would get hit with if you did not have a windscreen? Even when you drive with the top down on your convertible you have a windscreen to stop these things from getting to you. You would not even be able to keep your eyes open because of all the wind and other things that would get in your eyes. You could drive with goggles on, but you would still get hit with dirt and bugs, and what if it is raining? No, you definitely need your windscreen.
Protection
It also protects you and your passengers from being crushed in the event of a rollover in an accident. The roof would cave in without the windscreen keeping it sturdy, crushing you and whoever else is in the car. Have you ever wondered how the windscreen does all this if it is just a big piece of glass? You know glass is not that strong because it breaks if you drop it or if something hits it, so how does the windscreen stay together and hold up the roof of the car in a rollover accident? You have to know how they make a windscreen to understand that. At Car Windscreen London, we want you to be knowledgeable about these things because the more you know about your vehicle the better.
Here is how the windscreen is made:
Floating the Glass
The first step in making the windscreen is to mix water with the glass ingredients in a refractory tank where they are melted together at incredibly hot temperatures. This mixture is then put into the float tank where there is a thin layer of melted tin to float it on so it forms into one big sheet of glass.
Cooling Off
The long sheet of glass is then rolled into a special furnace, called a Lehr, where the glass is cooled very slowly so it does not crack or get any blemishes. They call this process annealing, which increases its strength but makes it easier to work with without breaking it.
Cutting
From the Lehr, the glass gets placed in a cutting area where it will be cut. A cutting tool made from a diamond material called a scribe, is then used to cut the glass to the right size. Then it is moved into the mold to be shaped.
Forming the Shape and Tempering
After it is cut, the glass must be curved into the exact shape for the vehicle make and model it will be installed into. In the mold, the glass is heated again until it is soft enough to work with but not melted. It is cooled quickly by shooting cold air jets at it so it hardens, which makes it stronger. This process is called tempering.
Sandwiching the PVB
Once the glass is formed, they put Poly-Vinyl Butyral (PVB) between two identical pieces and heat it up in an autoclave where it is pressed between two large rollers. This makes the PVB see-through and fuses the three pieces into one large piece, which is now a windscreen.
Manufacturer Certified Windscreen
Since each windscreen is unique to its vehicle, it is always important to be sure the shop you go to is using the manufacturer certified windscreen for your car when getting a windscreen replacement. Here at Car Windscreen London we always use windscreens that are certified by the manufacturer so you can be sure your windscreen will fit exactly as it did when it came off the showroom floor. Give us a call today at 0754 037 6056 and we will come to you and give you a free estimate.
