Machine drawn cylinder sheet was the first mechanical method for "drawing" window
glass. Cylinders of glass 40 feet (12 m) high are drawn vertically from a circular tank. The glass is then
annealed and cut into 7 to 10 foot (2 to 3 m) cylinders. These are cut lengthways, reheated, and flattened.
This process was invented in the USA in 1903. This type of glass was manufactured in the early 20th century (it was manufactured in the United Kingdom by Pilkingtons from 1910 to 1933).
Other historical methods for making window glass included
broad sheet,
blown plate,
crown glass,
polished plate and
cylinder blown sheet. These methods of manufacture lasted at least until the end of the 19th century. The early 20th century marks the move away from hand-blown to machine manufactured glass such as
rolled plate,
flat drawn sheet,
single and twin ground polished plate and
float glass
Float glass is a sheet of glass made by floating molten glass on a bed of molten metal, typically tin, although lead and other various low- melting-point alloys were used in the past. This method gives the sheet uniform thickness and very flat sur ...
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Glass production
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