German scientists develop new process for manufacturing right angled curved glass

Usually, buildings use two separate flat glass panels to splice at right angles, and then add metal rails and glue to secure them in place. However, scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany have developed a new process that allows a single piece of glass to achieve a 90 degree right angle bend without affecting its optical properties.

Although there have been processes to heat glass and bend it to a certain degree before, it is still difficult to achieve very sharp angles.

In addition, traditional techniques involve heating the entire piece of material to a sufficiently soft and extensible level, making the glass points in contact with the support in the oven prone to deformation.

To overcome these limitations, researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Materials Mechanics have designed a new technology.

Firstly, the glass plate is preheated to about 500 ° C (932 ° C) to ensure that the glass is under the extensible "transition point", without any deformation caused by the support frame in the oven.

Then, it uses mirror guided laser to heat the glass. The laser will only heat along a straight line in the middle of the glass plate (softening accordingly), while the rest will remain at 500 ℃.

Subsequently, when the support is moved away from one side of the glass pane, gravity causes the flat glass to soften and bend along a straight line, forming a natural 90 ° angle. After cooling, the glass will become hard again.

Up to now, scientists have achieved a maximum window pane area of 1 square meter (10.8 square feet) in the laboratory using existing equipment. However, they are seeking business partners to achieve a larger processing area.

Looking ahead, this technology and its products can not only be applied in architecture, but also in fields such as medicine, such as manufacturing seamless glass surfaces that can resist bacterial growth.