Float glass is a very specific type of glass that is formed through a process which involves floating the molten or semi-molten glass material on a bed of molten metal (usually tin) to help ensure a highly refined, finished glass with high optical quality, without the extra steps of polishing and finishing. We have touched on the process of floating glass in previous installments, but as you are probably thoroughly aware, a good recap now and again never hurts. Float glass was a major advancement in glassmaking technology when it was first introduced into the window-manufacturing world many many years ago. It offered a practical and affordable solution to the problem of uneven glass. For years, glass had been subject to much more crude forms of manufacturing. The result of these antiquated production techniques was far more inconsistency and a much lower quality in terms of clarity and evenness. By “floating” a glass pane over molten metal, the glass is formed to the ultra smooth layer of metal that it floats upon. For more information on how float glass is made, or for a more detailed history of the evolution of glassmaking, dig in to our resources and feast on what you find.

While we are on the idea of window manufacturing (when aren’t we on the topic?) we are going to look at what exactly fogging is. You’ve certainly come across this term if you’ve spent any time in the window industry. So, what is it? Fogging is a problem that some window manufacturers can run into in the process of constructing the product. Specifically, fogging is a deposit of film or other contamination on the inner surface of a sealed multi pane glass window. This can happen for a number of reasons, one of which being the extreme temperatures needed to produce the item. Failed seals are also a common cause of this problem.