What are the differences among sheet, plate, and float glass?
“Sheet” glass was produced in the early part of the 20th century by drawing the glass ribbon vertically out of the molten glass pool. Characteristically, sheet glass suffered from distortion that made it inappropriate for certain applications. In order to obtain relatively distortion-free glass for use in coach windows and mirrors, the “plate” glass process was developed. Plate glass was made by pouring molten glass onto a table and rolling it until flattened, then grinding and polishing it into a plate. This process eventually advanced by feeding the molten glass though continuous mechanized rollers, grinders, and polishers. The “float” glass manufacturing process achieves virtually parallel surfaces by being drawn from the bath and transported along the molten tin bath instead of going through the time- and cost-consuming flattening, grinding, and polishing requirements of the plate production process.
