Glass Processing

The options, designs and glass types are numerous and possibilities endless with our CNC Machine…

Shaped, Polished & Beveled Glass to your designs:

Our in house production factories in St. Austell holds a Toughening Plant Furnace which can toughen glass up to 1700mm. Toughened glass, also known as safety glass, is up to 5 times stronger than glass that has not been through the toughening process. When toughened glass is broken it shatters into small fragments rather than large sharp shards of glass that can cause serious injury. Toughening is a process which annealed glass goes through a thermal tempering process where the glass is heated up to 700 °C and then rapidly cooled ensuring the glass physically and thermally stronger.

Our production facilities also include the ability to heat soak glass. Heat soaking encourages the glass to explode under stress. In rare incidences toughened glass can explode for no apparent reason, this could be due to any impacts that the glass has encountered or that the glass contains nickel sulfide particles. Although nickel sulfide forms naturally during the making of the glass, it is when the glass is toughened that the nickel sulfide can affect the glass. The glass toughening process requires the glass to be heated to just below its softening point and then rapidly cooled. Because this heating and rapid cooling process induces substantial tension in the glass, nickel sulfide stone inclusions in the tension core can cause spontaneous breakage, as they are known to change phase (expand) some time after the toughening process.

To prevent this spontaneous breakage of toughened glass, it is placed in the heat soaking test oven where the glass is slowly heated 2 degrees a minute until it reaches 290 degree which is kept at this temperature for a set period of time. This testing process encourages any impurities in the glass to break and therefore prevent any spontaneous breaks. The glass is then cooled down roughly over two hours, where the complete process generally takes about 8 hours. Here at Cornwall Glass we have an electric heat soak test oven which allows us to test all types of glass.

Heat Soaking does not give 100% certainty as some impurities can sometimes survive the heat soaking process and it is expected to eliminate 98% of toughened glass that may have otherwise sustained a spontaneous break.

Within our group with have specialist glass painting equipment that enable you to choose nearly any colour and design of painted glass. We have invested in our painted glass services to provide you with a high quality service and finish to your product. With our other processes here at Cornwall Glass including glass cutting for bespoke designs and sandblasting, your colour painted glass splashbacks can be tailored to your exact requirements and the possibilities of the designs and colours are limitless and the end result of the products can really be quite spectacular. Take a look in our gallery for more inspiration.

Within our group we have some extremely talented stained glass designers. With years of professional experience our colleauges can produce really creative and outstanding designs.

Whether you have a door centre piece, a chuch stained glass window, a bathroom window or lampshade we can help you design and create your perfect stain glass and leading light design.