We all the know the basic components of a car. Wheels, doors, door handles, headlights and tail lights are all permanent fixtures even on the most basic car model available in the market right now. However, the most underrated installation on any vehicle has to be the safety glass on the windshield. The windshield protects all the passengers from any kind of injury from any kind of external damage, which range from small dents caused by weathering or any kind of mishap or accident. The windshield has undergone a lot of development over the years, from the times it was cleaned by the driver himself to windshield wipers that can sense when it rains and automatically switch on.
Windshields, or auto glass have one of the most important functions of the car: save the passengers from any kind of bodily harm. But how does a material like glass become so strong so as to not damage anyone inside the car?
Makings of a Windshield
Unlike side windows, which are made from toughened glass, the windshield is a very advanced form of laminated glass that has been perfected over the years to provide the best safety standards on a car. From the glue that keeps the layered glass together to the actual fitting of the windshield on the vehicle, the process is extensive and is very carefully conducted.
The glass formula of the windshield is firstly put through a float chamber. The raw materials in this chamber are heated to a point so that they melt and are fed onto a bath of molten tin where the glass is rested till it becomes flat. The glass is then formed and cut through a process called annealing and after it is put on a mould for the correct shape. It is then laminated by pressing it repeatedly through rollers to make it transparent and strong. This process helps in strengthening the glass, which itself has a lot of benefits. Laminated glass, technically, consists of two layers of strengthened glass sandwiched by a plastic interlayer, usually PVB (poly vinyl butyral) that acts as a buffer and a glue which holds on to the glass even after shattering.
Benefits of a Windshield Glass
There are a lot of advantages of the modern windshield, which include:
•It gives you ample protection from any kind of external factors that can affect you.
•It contributes to the overall structural integrity of the vehicle, working in tandem to keep the entire vehicle safe.
•It also helps in deploying air bags, because if the adhesive is put up properly, the airbags can discharge without any hitches.
•It also provides protection for not just the driver, but the passenger too, effectively reducing the number of injuries that can suffered in case anything goes wrong.