Automotive Windshield – Under the Lens of a Safety Feature

by Basant K. Global Market Research Reports

Windshield has been one of the most overlooked hardware when it comes to the safety of passengers. It shoulders the responsibility to shield passengers by creating ideal driving condition during adverse weather conditions. With time and evolution, the automotive windshields of today are well-equipped with the best of the technology and are well above being merely a piece of glass.

The modern automotive windshields are armed with advanced rain sensors and windshield wipers. The strength that an automotive windshield possesses have a direct impact on the frame of an automotive. It enables a safe installation of airbag and prevents any possible injury to the passenger. It also retains the roof rigor of an automotive during rollover.

The central bodies across the world are legislating stringent laws to prevent as many road accidents as possible. The quality of the windshield’s glass is taken strictly into consideration during the testing of an automotive.

On the back of the strong shield, there is a surging demand for incorporating good quality of windshield in automotive. Many companies across the globe are encouraged to innovate smart technologies for the manufacturing of windshield. This competition has offered an impressive growth opportunity to the automotive windshield market.

Types of glasses for the manufacturing of an Automotive Windshield

As the automotive windshield performs multifaceted functionalities, it should be rigid enough to weather any unfavorable condition. An ideal windshield is the one that resists from shattering, thereby shielding the passengers from any injury on the back of the broken glasses.

On the basis of fulfilling this safety feature in an automotive, the windshield glass has been classified into two categories – Laminated glass and Tempered glass. The laminated glass showcases a quality of pure windshield while a tempered glass displays a quality similar to that of a bulletproof glass. The base of their difference lies in the process used for their manufacturing. Here are some other details about these glasses utilized for manufacturing an automotive windshield.

Laminated glass:

A laminated glass is produced by marrying two glass sheets together and sandwiching the lamination between those sheets. When a windshield is made up of laminated glass, the broken glass pieces gel with each other. This way any probability of getting an injury is subtracted. The quality of a laminated glass is such that it reflects the sound waves produced by the noise of traffic, thereby providing a good sound-proofing to an automotive. When the two sheets laminated together are thick enough, they even exhibit the property of a bullet-proof glass.

Tempered glass:

A tempered glass is manufactured by treating its outer surface and the inner surface separately. The outer surface of the tempered glass is compressed while the inner surface of the tempered glass experiences tension. The tempered glass undergoes heat treatment which provides it the required stiffness and it then becomes the windshield that can handle and operate during high pressure.

When a windshield is made up of a tempered glass, the broken pieces further disintegrate into small parts. This helps the passengers from getting any injury from the sharp pieces of glass.

Latest trend in the automotive windshield market: Gorilla Glass

Laminated glasses are usually light in weight, considering the thin sheet of glasses. As the manufacturers decide to enhance the safety for the passengers, they keep on increasing the thickness of the glass sheet. So, the quality of low-weight in the laminated glass takes a back seat.

Similarly, in a tempered glass, the rigidness is attributed to the quality of the glass being used for manufacturing the windshield. However, the problem of being heavy weighted remains the same even in the tempered glass.

Gorilla glass surpasses the ideal expectations to be an automotive windshield by overcoming the constraints of laminated glass and tempered glass. It is tougher, lighter, and thinner as compared to the laminated and tempered glass. This scratch resistant glass is chemically treated to pack the ions closely together and prevent the worsening of scratch.

Automotive Windshield: What’s next?

The automotive market is witnessing a surge in the demand due to the swelling population rate and their extended purchasing capacities. This has put a direct pressure on the manufacturers to meet the demand as well as stand tall against their competition. New technologies are discovered and incorporated in these automotive to provide an elevating driving experience.

One such technology in the automotive safety vicinity is Advanced Driver Assistance Systems – ADAS. The technology is being aimed at preventing as many road mishaps as possible. The system is jam-packed with safety features for the drivers that consist of adaptive light control, collision prevention, automatic braking, etc. In the vicinity of automotive windshield, ADAS finds its application in the smart sensor placed in the front areas of the automotive. It helps the drivers have a clear vision when they are driving during the nighttime.