浮法玻璃float glass.docVIP

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Float Glass Float glass is a sheet of glass made by floating molten glass on a bed of molten metal, typically tin, although lead and various low melting point alloys were used in the past. This method gives the sheet uniform thickness and very flat surfaces. Modern windows are made from float glass. Most float glass is soda-lime glass, but relatively minor quantities of specialty borosilicate[1] and flat panel display glass are also produced using the float glass process.[2] The float glass process is also known as the Pilkington process, named after the British glass manufacturer Pilkington, which pioneered the technique (invented by Sir Alastair Pilkington) in the 1950s./* */ History Until the 16th century, window glass or flat glass was generally cut from large discs (or rondels) of crown glass(冕牌玻璃). Larger sheets of glass were made by blowing large cylinders which were cut open and flattened, then cut into panes. Most window glass in the early 19th century was made using the cylinder method(柱状法). The cylinders were 6 to 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 m) long and 10 to 14 inches (250 to 360 mm) in diameter, limiting the width that panes of glass could be cut, and resulting in windows divided by transoms(横梁) into rectangular panels(矩形面板). The first advances in automating glass manufacturing were patented in 1848 by Henry Bessemer, an English engineer. His system produced a continuous ribbon(带) of flat glass by forming the ribbon between rollers. This was an expensive process, as the surfaces of the glass needed polishing. If the glass could be set on a perfectly smooth body this would reduce costs considerably. Attempts were made to form flat glass on a molten tin bath, notably in the US. Several patents were granted, but this process was unworkable. Before the development of float glass, larger sheets of plate glass were made by casting a large puddle of glass on an iron surface, and then polishing both sides, a costly process. From th