Whats the Difference Between Float & Sheet Glass?
Sheet glass is (was) produced by ‘drawing’ the molten mix through rollers to achieve the desired thickness of panel. This process left roller marks (areas of differing thickness) which caused the once familiar waviness. Sheet production virtually ended when the new float glass process was introduced in the 1970s. Float is produced by floating the molten raw material on a bath of molten tin. As the (continuous) ribbon of glass proceeds (floats) along the tin bath, it is cooled gradually until it has hardened enough to go off into a conveyor system (the tin remains molten at this stage) for cutting and packing. As float is produced “liquid floating on liquid” it is perfectly flat and has a superb ‘polished’ surface finish. The float process invented by the British firm Pilkington, is frequently described as the most radical change to an industrial process since the war.
