It is a new method of shaping tempered laminated glass, without using heat. The idea is to make glass art more accessible and cheaper, using recycled materials.
It allows users to shape a sheet of tempered laminated glass at low temperatures (without the use of ovens) and fixate the shape to obtain the desired form, curved and complex as it may be.
Starting from a panel of laminated, tempered glass the user proceeds to break the glass and then shape it, cut it or both as he desires. The glass can be broken over a shape, or subsequently placed as required. The middle section of the panel, the PVB sheet, holds the glass together during this phase. The fact that the glass is tempered prevents dangerous shards from forming and allows a better manipulation. After the shape is achieved, the glass is covered in a resin, giving the newly found shape rigidity and resistance. Now the form gains a new smoothness, given by the resin that penetrates the spaces between the broken portions of the glass.
Flexiglass allows some advantages in the field of glass shaping and production:
– The lack of need for high temperatures guarantees that even modest artists can use this process;
– Flexiglass allows producers of tempered laminated glass to use compromised production lots, which are usually removed from retail;
– The effect of the purposely broken is unique;
– It allows for the shaping of large sheets of glass, limited only by the size a company can produce;
– The resin can be colored and painted if the user desires so;
– Flexiglass can take on almost any shape desired, in order of what the designer can handle.
Flexiglass can become a very sustainable choice in glass art applications, varying from pure artwork to household design.