Toughened glass, also known as tempered glass or safety glass, is a variant of glass that is manufactured by subjecting annealed glass to controlled temperature. The toughened glass is robust and capable of enduring heavy impacts like that of cyclones and other natural and artificial disasters.

Toughened glass is popular for commercial doors and windows, curtainwalls, stairways, etc. This is because the toughened glass, along with possessing high tensile strength and thermal resistance, breaks into small harmless pieces upon accidental impact. In addition, the manufacturing process also ensures that the toughened glass comes out smooth and even at the edges, which is because of the extra processing that it goes through.

Com-Al Windows is a reputed commercial windows and doors provider in Australia, which specialises in the designing, manufacturing, and installation of commercial glass, laminated, sound control glass, double glazed units, skylight, and canopy glass, toughened glass, laminated, frameless toughened glass and more. Therefore, if you are based out of Perth or anywhere in and around Australia, then you can simply contact Com-Al Windows to fit toughened glass in your commercial entry doors, windows, and more.

Toughened Glass and what makes it tough!

If you are wondering about the name “toughened glass”, then it is due to the property of the toughened glass being physically and thermally solid. These glasses can resist surface compression of at least 69 MPa.

The intense stress that toughened glass undergoes, makes it strong and tough. It goes through the thermal tempering process where the annealed glass is heated at or above 720 degrees. Here, just as the glass reaches its heating point, the cooling process is performed.

The Popularity of Frameless Toughened Glass Doors

The glass, which eventually becomes strong and stressed, and emerges as toughened glass, finds many applications. Framed and frameless toughened glass entry doors, balcony doors, shower doors, commercial toughened glass windows, and facades are some popular examples.

We are all familiar with framed glass doors, where the frames are made out of different materials, however, frameless toughened glass doors are relatively newer and are unique to toughened glass.

Frameless toughened glass doors and sliding doors have spiked in popularity relatively fast due to their stylish, unique appeal, complete vision they provide, and their energy efficiency. However, the toughened frameless glass doors must be compliant with Australian standards if you are thinking of having them installed at your office or commercial space.

How to make Toughened Glass Doors and Windows Compliant

with Australian Standards?

If you need your toughened glass entry doors and others to comply with Australian standards, you must ensure that they comply with the National Construction Code. Besides, the wind loading and human impact requirements of the toughened glass should go by the Australian Standard (AS)1288.

It is important to review Australian Standard AS 1288, which provides a Deemed-to-Satisfied solution for the NCC for all glass products.

One of the most important things that you should remember is that you need to choose the appropriate thickness of glass to ensure it complies

with the all the requirements. However, before you step ahead to determine the glass thickness that you need to stay compliant, you need to make the list of assumptions below:

• The door should be considered locked, where it stands supported on three points.
• The span or diagonal distance from the bottom right to top left of the panel is considered
• Stress is considered at 100% ULS
• Deflection should be measured at the centre of the panel
• The deflection measured should be less than or equal to span /40 @68% of ULS pressure

Checking the Compliance of Toughened Glass Entry Doors

If you are wondering how you can determine whether or not your toughened glass units meet Australian standards, then you need to check an identifier that is marked in a visible location on the unit. It contains:

• The name of the manufacturer or supplier or trademark, and a unique manufacturing site identifier.
• The date of manufacture, specifying the month and the year
• A reference to the AS 4666

By choosing Com-Al Windows Pty Ltd for your toughened frameless glass doors, you can rest assured of the quality and the efficiency of the final product and need not worry about compliance. This is because all the commercial windows and glass doors manufactured and fitted by Com-Al Windows are designed in Australian accredited facilities and are designed to meet Australian standards.

A typical Toughened Glass Process

An image of fractured Toughened Glass

An image of fractured Heat Strengthened Glass