Float glass
Material; type of glass / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Float glass is a sheet of glass made by floating molten glass on a bed of molten metal of a low melting point, typically tin,[1] although lead was used for the process in the past.[2] This method gives the sheet uniform thickness and a very flat surface.[3] The float glass process is also known as the Pilkington process, named after the British glass manufacturer Pilkington,[4] which pioneered the technique in the 1950s at their production site in St Helens, Merseyside.[5]
Modern windows are usually made from float glass,[6] though Corning Incorporated uses the overflow downdraw method.[7]
Most float glass is soda–lime glass,[8] although relatively minor quantities of specialty borosilicate[9] and flat panel display glass are also produced using the float glass process.