Understanding glass tolerances
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When briefing a commercial glass company, you need to make sure you include glass tolerances. Find out what this means and why they're so important.
When you're briefing in a project to a glass supplier, there are several bases you need to cover. To ensure you get the materials you need, you need to provide plenty of information upfront.
One thing that needs communicating right away is the "tolerances" of the materials you're ordering. This is as important as the product type, pane thickness and design preferences.
Don't know what we're talking about? You're not alone. Glass tolerances are one of those things that become important only when you need them. Let's put it this way: no one outside the world of commercial glass is discussing them over coffee.
But without specifying your glass tolerances, you could end up with materials that simply don't fit. And if you do find yourself in this situation, the responsibility ultimately lies with you. Manufacturers can only produce what you tell them to.
This is true whatever the scale of your project. Whether you're ordering a single glass panel or the materials for an elaborate piece of structural glass, tolerances are crucial.
The alternative is to spend time, money and energy on building materials that can't be used.
Here at ToughGlaze, we want our customers and clients to get the materials they need to realise their vision – whether it's a simple shopfront or a palatial balustrade.
That's why we've put together this handy guide to tolerances – to make sure you get the products you need without exception.
What are glass tolerances?
Every field has its jargon – and in the world of commercial glass, "tolerance" is a technical way of saying "wiggle room".
Wiggle room is crucial to glass manufacture. That's because buying glass isn't quite like ordering other materials.
Let's say you order a carpet and it arrives a little too big. In theory, you can cut it down to size – a pain, for sure, but not the end of the world (or a trip to the dump).
With glass, this isn't the case. Once processed, glass can't easily be cut. In some cases, in fact, it can't be cut at all – doing so would result in shattering.
All of which is to say that your commercial glass supplier needs to know what wiggle room they have during the manufacturing process – the minimum and maximum variations that can occur before the glass needs to be scrapped.
This wiggle room is partly to ensure that you get the right-sized materials. It's also to ensure that the glass is as good as it can be.
Glassmaking is an elemental process like blacksmithing or pottery. The raw materials are shaped by the awesome power of fire. That means you're rarely going to get a perfect piece of glass. A pane could easily come out of the oven with a blemish or a chip. This isn't because the manufacturer's done a bad job – it's just part of the process.
If a pane of glass does have a flaw, your supplier can usually remove it without any additional cutting or grinding – but only if it's within the requisite tolerance. If not, the glass has to be chucked.
Things have improved since the advent of CNC machines. Automated cutting has improved the overall success rate. If you're producing identical units
en masse, they're likely to be nigh on perfect. But if the product is complicated or customised, tolerances matter.
What does your commercial glass supplier need to know?
When you brief your commercial glass supplier about a project, there are six things you need to communicate – we ran through them in a recent blog post on the subject.
At this stage of the process, accurate details are vital. If you skimp on the details, you could end up tipping money down the chute.
Tolerances are one such detail. Now, different manufacturers can have subtly different tolerance capabilities – which is why it needs to be talked about from the start.
At ToughGlaze, our priority is to produce materials that exactly meet your requirements. Our state-of-the-art equipment means that we avoid the need for tolerances wherever possible.
Even so, the devil's in the details – and if you don't let us know your glass tolerances, you could be disappointed.
Your best bet is to submit clear and detailed digital renderings that include all the necessary tolerance information.
A high-quality rendering leads to high-quality glass. It's a good example of how important it is to communicate in detail with your commercial glass partner right from the beginning of the process. You get the materials you need and they get the satisfaction of a job well done – win-win.
Does all glass have tolerances?
Some types of custom-fabricated or patterned glass will have tight or non-existent margins. This will depend on the design. Submit a detailed rendering and talk to the manufacturer when getting a quote – you could regret it otherwise.
What guidelines cover glass tolerances in the UK?
In the UK, glass tolerances are covered by British Standard EN 12150. These aren't regulations or laws, but they are an industry standard for many glass manufacturers.
Starting as you mean to go on
Communicating right from the quoting stage is very important. If you don't provide the necessary information upfront, the company may not be able to give you an accurate quote – or, even worse, they might end up delivering something slightly but critically different from what you ordered.
Don't let this happen to you. Discuss glass tolerances from day one and get the materials you need for your project.
At ToughGlaze, we pride ourselves on clear communication at all stages of the process. Our aim is to produce the materials that you require and nothing less.
So if you have any questions about glass tolerances, don't hesitate to ask. We'd love to help you turn your project idea into reality.
Are you looking for a custom glass supplier? ToughGlaze has been a leader in the glass industry since 1993. Speak to one of our experts today for a quick quote.
