Securit glass quote / Made-to-measure toughened glass

It is glass that has been treated to increase its resistance to thermal and mechanical shock. The process, called "toughening" (or tempering), can be:

• thermal: the glass is heated to a very high temperature, often over 600°C, before being cooled very rapidly. This sudden drop in temperature creates surface compression that makes the glass much more resistant to impact;
• chemical: to achieve the same result, the glass is instead exposed to various chemical agents.

In practice, since using chemicals is considerably more expensive and specialised, thermal toughening is generally preferred, and PlakGlass uses thermal toughening to make its made-to-measure toughened glass. Either way, the glass offers increased resistance to physical and thermal shock. It can withstand rapid temperature changes of up to 200°C, three times more than ordinary glass. Its mechanical strength is also increased by 500%. Of course, this glass can still break. When it does, Securit glass shatters into a multitude of small fragments with blunt edges, reducing the likelihood of injury. By comparison, ordinary glass breaks into large, particularly dangerous pieces.

Apart from its great strength, it has the same characteristics as ordinary glass. It can therefore be worked in a similar way before the toughening process, particularly as regards cutting, edgework, thickness or finish (acid-etched, clear, low-iron, tinted, back-painted, etc). Thanks to the increased safety it offers users, made-to-measure toughened glass has a great many uses, such as:

• shower screens and bath screens;
• furniture such as living room or dining room table tops, kitchen splashbacks, shelves, display cabinets;
• sliding doors, partitions or glass partition walls.

Toughened glass, safety glass or Securit glass: the three names are very often used interchangeably. But are we really talking about the same product? Glass described as "toughened" is renowned for its remarkable resistance to mechanical or thermal stress. Where ordinary glass breaks easily, toughened glass does not shatter. And when it does, it scatters into small, very blunt fragments. As a result, injuries from this material are less common. This is obviously not the case with untreated glass, which forms much larger and, above all, much more dangerous shards. This safety aspect is why it is also called "safety" glass. In both cases, it is therefore one and the same product.

On the other hand, safety glass is not necessarily Securit glass. Securit is in fact a registered trademark of the French company Saint-Gobain. It is a brand name that has become a generic term, in other words one that has passed into everyday language to refer to this type of product. There used to be many other examples, such as the famous "klaxon" used instead of "car horn". In conclusion, Securit glass is indeed toughened (or safety) glass, but glass toughened outside the St Gobain network should not be described as "Securit", as it is not entitled to the brand name. Note that there are several glass specifications that fall under the generic term "safety glass".

Our configurator lets you create your toughened glass in a few clicks. You choose the shape, enter the dimensions and add holes, rounded corners or bevelled edges if needed; it goes into production exactly as you specified, and delivery follows as soon as manufacture is complete.

Important information: toughened glass must never be used where there is a risk of falling; in that case you need laminated glass for balustrades.

Clear toughened glass is available made to measure in thicknesses of 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm, 8 mm, 10 mm, 12 mm, 15 mm and 19 mm. The most popular are:

Clear glass (transparent):

• 5 mm clear glass
• 6 mm clear glass
• 8 mm clear glass

Low-iron glass (transparent):

• 5 mm low-iron glass
• 6 mm low-iron glass
• 8 mm low-iron glass