Although do not know it, it is possible that you have surfaces Gorilla Glass very close to you. Specifically in the screen of your smartphone , if such an iPhone or a recent Google Nexus. Corning Glass is the glass manufacturer located in Pennsylvania, USA BMW was the first car brand to use Gorilla Glass. This high-strength glass is up lighter than conventional glass, and it seems that Ford is beginning to evaluate its use in mass production of cars 30%.
screen of your mobile phone to the windshield of your car
Up to 30% lighter and stronger than conventional glass … but much more expensive.
The use of these glass panels lighter and stronger is no accident. Automakers are under increasing pressure to reduce vehicle emissions . A great way – it is also in a better dynamics of the car – is to lighten the cars as much as possible. Today, cars are safer and equipped than ever and that is why they are starting to use exotic materials as carbon fiber, magnesium, aluminum, and plastic than ever.
Before a car was only iron and steel, today we have cars of mass production chassis of carbon fiber – without going further to the BMW 7 Series – and aluminum engines, wheels magnesium, and very soon glass surfaces with Gorilla Glass . Created by Corning Glass is 30% lighter than conventional glass by chemical treatment. This allows it to be finer, more resistant and at the same time. How could it be otherwise, is considerably more expensive than conventional glass.
This glass will increase the price we pay for a new car.
BMW has used the i8, an innovation lab on wheels, a car of the future. But now Ford who is considering large-scale use in the production lines of cars like the Focus and the Fusion. Ford is serious about weight reduction, and has been interested in carbon fiber on a massive scale, and last year introduced the Fusion Lightweight Concept. This prototype had a special windshield, consisting of a conventional glass sheet bonded to a sheet of Gorilla Glass.
Ford is considering using hybrid glass surfaces at first, for the entire glass surface of the carrier. The problem will be the cost. Several experts – as American consultants Autoglass Technical Consultants of Pittsburgh (USA), closely linked to the industry of Detroit – agree that increased costs may not compensate for weight reduction a car could save as much as 10 to 15 kilos using Gorilla Glass on all glass surfaces.
However, it seems that the first step will be use of hybrid crystals and the application of Gorilla Glass in more exclusive or niche cars. Where yes there is that consumers have to pay more for all this technology, both at the time of purchase and time of repair consensus.
Source: Automotive News
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