Float Glass Is The Mainstream Mode Of Flat Glass Production Process

Float glass is the mainstream mode of flat glass production process

Flat glass, widely used in multiple fields, is a large industry that includes multiple categories of products. If divided by production process, in addition to ordinary flat glass, mainstream products in the market include float glass, rolled glass, etc. Among them, 90% of the total amount of flat glass products are float glass. From the product definition, it is glass made using the floating method. The raw material of float glass is generally ore quartz sand. In the production process, molten glass is poured into the surface of liquid whose specific gravity is greater than that of glass, and then formed. Due to the fact that float glass is made on the surface of a tin bath liquid without water ripples, it has first-class surface smoothness and transparency, good thickness uniformity, and excellent optical performance.

In addition, its structure is relatively tight, and its feel is smooth, which is more conducive to cutting and has good stability. Therefore, it is widely used in many fields such as civil architecture. For example, in the production of various mirror products (such as car glass mirrors) and home decorations (such as TV background walls, screens), float glass has been recognized by the market for its high cost-effectiveness.

As the mainstream production process of flat glass, the rise of float glass industry is closely related to the innovative development of float forming technology by Pilkington Glass Company in the 1950s in the UK. Afterwards, countries around the world have increased their investment in the research and development of float glass. Relatively speaking, China's independent research and development in this field has been blocked overseas for a long time, making the path of independent innovation extremely difficult. Until 1971, with the launch of float glass industry experiments by the country, the technological level of China's independently developed "Luoyang Float Glass Process" continued to improve after ten years of sharpening and upgrading. In 1981, the "Luoyang Float Glass Technology" was awarded the National Invention Gold Award, which not only marked significant achievements in the transformation of China's glass industry, but also laid a solid foundation for the large-scale development of China's float glass industry.

After decades of development and accumulation, currently in the core technology field, China's "Luoyang float glass process" has become one of the three major float glass processes in the world (the other two are the Pilkington float in the UK and the Pittsburgh float in the US). In terms of industrial development, with the strong support and guidance of the country, the market size continues to expand, and a large number of high-quality leading enterprises have emerged. Leading enterprises represented by Fuyao Glass (600660. SH) have set sail and participated in global market competition. In terms of output, sales volume, and product quality, China's float glass industry has already reached the world-class level.