Custom glass shower doors fabrication techniques are used on glass which includes grinding, cutting, laminating and drilling. Other common custom glass shower doors fabricating operations include edge work, insulation, bending and polishing. A lot of these glass fabrication processes are performed by CNC or Computer Numerical Control Machines which are capable in extremely precise operations.CNC machineries operate according to some specific CAD and CAM software programs which enable them to machine a lot of work pieces with identical precision. These machines are also able to perform different range of machining tasks which are normally accomplished by specialized equipment.
Another area of custom glass shower doors manufacture that has come to the attention of many in the last few years is the creation of glass float. Raw materials are entered at one end of the processing stage and then are cut precisely to specifications in between highly intensive stages with rates that are as high as 6,000 tons.
- Melting and refining. This is the first stage. The fine grained ingredients which are closely controlled to ensure quality are mixed together in order to make a batch which then flows as a blanket on the molten glass at about 1,500 degrees Celsius in the melter. Float can make glass of near optical quality. There are several processes involved- melting, refining and homogenizing and these take place simultaneously in the 2,000 tons of molten glass inside the furnace. They occur in different zones in a complex glass flow which is driven by high temperature. It also adds up to a continuous melting process which lasts for about 50 hours and delivers glass at 1,100 C.
- Float bath. The glass coming from the melter will flow gently over a refractory spout to the mirror-like surface of molten tin which starts at 1,100 C. This principle of the float glass remains unchanged from the 1950s. However, the product has drastically changed from a single equilibrium thickness of about 6.8mm to about 25mm.
- Coating. Coatings which can alter the optical properties of the product can be applied with advanced high temperature technology on the cooling ribbon of glass. Since the float process was invented, the most significant advancement is the on-line chemical vapor deposition. This certain process can be used in laying down different coatings which is less than a micron thick in order to reflect infrared and visible wavelengths.
- Annealing. When float glass is formed, there is tranquility to it although there will still be considerable stresses developed in the ribbon as it cools down. When there is too much stress, the glass will break beneath the cutter. In order to relieve the stresses, the ribbon will undergo heat treatment inside a long furnace known as a lehr.
- Inspection. The float process is famous for making flaw-free and flat glasses. However, in order to ensure the highest quality, inspection has to be done in every stage of the process. Occasionally, a bubble will not be removed during the refining stage, a sand grain often refuse to melt. The new technology known as automated online inspection reveals process faults upstream which can be corrected.