The international technology group and specialty glass expert SCHOTT will be presenting its innovations at glasstec in Dusseldorf again this year. The leading international trade fair on glass is being held under the motto “intelligent glass” and will focus on thin glass technology among other topics. With its ultra-thin glass, even on a roll, SCHOTT offers a high-performance material for innovative applications in various industries. The company based in Mainz, Germany, will also be showing many other types of flat glass – from striking architectural glass to design-oriented toughened glasses for kitchens or vehicle cabins, high-performance flat glass-ceramics for industrial applications, or thin, lightweight, highly scratchproof specialty glass for smartphones and more. SCHOTT will be presenting its products and innovations at booth A 22 in Hall 11 from October 21-24.
Photo ID 183378: Glass on a roll is only between 25 and 100 μm thick and can be used for innovative, highly differentiated applications at the customer’s site thanks to cost-effective roll-to-roll (R2R) processing. Photo: SCHOTT.
Ultra-thin glass is only between 25 and 100 μm thick and can be used for innovative, highly differentiated applications enabling minimized form factors and higher performance of end-user devices. Roll-to-roll (R2R) processing will enable extremely cost-effective manufacturing for our customers. For example, electronic circuits are envisioned to be produced in a single manufacturing process by using in-line printing processes. In this case, the glass can be guided through individual processing stations directly from the roll and then be rolled up again uncut at the end. SCHOTT is experiencing a broad interest from different industries, including companies from both the electronic and automotive markets.
Architectural glasses produce striking special effects and give buildings and rooms a special flair. SCHOTT will be showing NARIMA® color effects glass for indoor and outdoor applications at glasstec. Its color varies depending on the sun and the observer's position and thus achieves a rainbow effect. The metamorphosis glass MIRONA® also enables sophisticated spatial and object staging. If the area behind the glass is dark, SCHOTT MIRONA® glass turns into an elegant mirror. If it is light, it transforms itself into a transparent window.
SCHOTT will also be presenting many of its fire-resistant glazing products. These include PYRANOVA® specialty glass in butt joint glazing of the fire resistance class EI 90 and a glazing solution with PYRAN® S in XXL format (1800 mm x 3600 mm) in the class EI 30. It is the largest pane format in this class that has been approved in Germany.
SCHOTT will also display various product innovations related to processed flat glasses: Innovative in terms of its design and intuitively controllable by simply pressing the surface – SCHOTT supports this trend with electrical appliances by offering a wide range of solutions for displays and control solutions such as those that are used in household appliances, for example. Whereas buttons and knobs once left a disturbing appearance, the glass surface now intuitively tells you what to do. The SCHOTT product range includes everything from control panels with backlit symbols to glass with the circuits printed on it or even ground indentations that are assigned control functions. SCHOTT has even developed a new technology of its own for the latter called “Smart Touch”. It allows for entirely new design and operator concepts to be realized for so-called “Human Machine Interface” solutions.
Today, the cover glass used in smartphones, tablet PCs and other electronic devices that feature touch panels must offer the highest strength and scratch resistance. Xensation® Cover glass offers these specific qualities. But other innovative applications are also on the rise: In April, SCHOTT won the Crystal Cabin Award that is highly respected in the aviation industry in the category “Materials and Technical Components” for its glass laminate made of Xensation® Cover glass for interior panes in passenger aircraft. SCHOTT is the first manufacturer of a product that not only meets all fire regulations for cabins and passes fracture tests, but is also lighter than the conventional internal panes used in passenger aircraft.
SCHOTT also offers solutions for large-size touch applications in public places. The technical glass CONTURAN® is equipped with a special DARO coating (DARO = durable, anti-reflective, oleophobic). For the first time ever, it combines an anti-reflective coating with a protective film against contamination on cover glasses. The oleophobic anti-reflective coating clearly resists fingerprints and water and is thus well suited for technical or public displays.
The NEXTREMA® glass-ceramics material family opens up new possibilities for engineers and designers thanks to its special properties, especially in high-temperature environments from 400 to 950 degrees Celcius. This paves the way for new applications in high-tech industries, where traditional materials such as plastics, conventional glass or metal are pushed to their limits. NEXTREMA® can be used as an inner lining and backing material in high-temperature processes in semiconductor technology, for example. During efficient production of displays, chips or wafers for the semiconductor market, the glass-ceramic scores a lot of points with properties like temperature resistance, chemically inert behavior in coating processes and a wide optical transmission spectrum.
The success of BOROFLOAT® specialty glass can be attributed to the sum of its properties. The world's first floated borosilicate glass is known for its outstanding thermal resistance, exceptionally high transparency, high chemical durability and excellent mechanical strength and is used in various industries – as panes in oven doors, biochips in modern medical technology or as part of stage lights, cinema projectors, or diving robots.
SCHOTT will also be represented in the special show “glass technology live” that is considered to be a driving force in the industry. Products and visions from research and practice on the subject of glass will be shown here. The company will be presenting its glass on a roll, the thickness spectrum of Xensation® cover glass and the NEXTREMA® glass-ceramics product family.
For more information on these and other SCHOTT innovations, please visit: http://microsites.schott.com/glasstec2014/english/