“A” Grade Safety Glass

What is Safety Glass?
Safety Glass is glass that has been treated to ensure it is either (or both) less likely to break and once broken less likely to cause serious injury. “A” Grade Safety glass is either laminated glass or toughened (tempered) glass.

Laminated glass
is two sheets of (usually) the same thickness of glass bonded together with an interlayer of (usually) polyvinyl butyral (PVB). Thus while the glass is no stronger that normal glass when it breaks it is more likely to still hold together due to the interlayer. Motor vehicle windscreens are a good example of laminated glass.

Toughened
(or Tempered) Glass is glass that is processed by controlled thermal or chemical treatments to increase its strength compared with normal glass. Tempering creates balanced internal stresses which cause the glass, when broken, to crumble into small granular chunks instead of splintering into large jagged shards. The small chunks are less likely to cause serious injury. Motor vehicle side windows are a good example of toughened glass.

Citiwest’s Glass
Citiwest Glass can provide both Laminated Safety Glass or, with our glass tempering furnace, we can manufacture thermally Toughened Safety Glass on-site. Citiwest Glass has been independently certified as an accredited manufacturer of “A” Grade Safety Glass (CSI 7148) in accordance with AS/NZS 2208. To be an accredited manufacturer of “A” Grade Safety Glass, Citiwest Glass must comply with stringent testing and auditing guidelines.