Making Gorilla Glass for Automotive | Corning Gorilla Glass | Corning

Have you ever driven behind a construction vehicle, clenching the wheel and hoping that rocks and debris don’t fly up in front of your car and shatter your windshield? Well, you can’t always control what type of vehicle you’re stuck behind, but a windshield containing Corning® Gorilla® Glass can help take the worry off significant damage.

In December 2015, Corning and Ford announced Gorilla Glass for Automotive (GGfA) - a thin, lightweight, optically advantaged solution for automotive windshields that significantly reduces risk of breakage due to impact. GGfA offers many of the benefits Gorilla Glass has provided owners of mobile devices as the preferred cover glass material since its introduction in 2007.

Like traditional car windshields, Gorilla Glass for Automotive is composed of three layers. Traditional car windshields are made from two layers of soda lime glass sandwiching a PVB binding agent. This is how windshields have been made since Henry Ford introduced the layering technique in 1923.

After nearly a century, Corning evolved this multilayer approach, using Gorilla for Automotive to add additional value to the typical three-layer construct.

The innovative design replaces the windshield’s inner layer of soda-lime glass with chemically strengthened alumino-silicate Gorilla Glass laminate. An advanced noise-absorbing thermoplastic (APVB, Acoustic PVB) interlayer is then sandwiched between the Gorilla Glass laminate and soda-lime glass outer layer.

Martin Curran, chief innovation officer and executive vice president of Corning Incorporated, noted the value of Corning’s Gorilla Glass hybrid windshield construct, stating,

“The highest tensile force is on the surface of the inner glass. As a result, the inherent strength of Gorilla for Automotive is best suited as the inner layer of the windshield to reduce the likelihood of laminate breakage and the risk of glass particles penetrating the inside of the vehicle…This recommendation is confirmed by OEM interest and test results.”

The three-layer Gorilla Glass hybrid creates a tougher windshield, which helps withstand breakage and prevents hazardous glass shards.

Lightweight

Picture about three to four pennies placed on top of each other. That stack is representative of the thickness of typical windshields, ranging from 4 to 6 millimeters thick. Now take one or two of those pennies off the stack and you have the approximate thickness – 3 to 4 millimeters – of the Gorilla Glass hybrid windshield. This reduction in materials makes Gorilla Glass windshields lightweight, weighing 20 to 60 percent less than conventional automotive windows.

Automotive manufacturers have been moving toward lightweighting as a means to meet increasingly stringent fuel economy and emissions regulations.

Tough

Drivers regularly facing the threat of an unexpected rock strike want the layer of glass closest to provide the most protection. Corning’s unique processes allow Gorilla Glass windshields to surpass today’s standards for damage and impact resistance, helping to prevent cracks, and dangerous glass debris. These tough characteristics are all thanks in part to Corning’s proprietary manufacturing processes.

Check out the following videos to see just how tough a Gorilla Glass windshield is:

“Corning’s proprietary fusion draw and ion exchange processes are key to keeping Gorilla Glass thin, tough, and optically clear. These processes have revolutionized windshield technology, earning Gorilla Glass windshields a spot in cars from top auto manufacturers,” explained Eric Biribuze, product line manager, Automotive Glass Solutions.

Gorilla Glass is cut from the initial sheet, bent, then submerged in a molten salt ion-exchange process. During this deep chemical strengthening, smaller ions are replaced with larger ions taking up more volume. When the glass cools, these ions are concentrated, creating a layer of compressive stress on the surface of the glass. This strengthening process is what distinguishes Gorilla for Automotive. Biribuze noted, “Creating this deep layer of surface compression contributes to the toughness of the glass, even at a reduced thickness.” But toughness is only one of the many physical attributes this multi-layer solution touts.

The Ford GT supercar was the first to feature the Gorilla Glass Windshield. The lightweight automotive glass was used in the Ford GT’s windshield, rear window, and bulkhead (a separation window behind the seats and in the front of the rear engine). The use of the Gorilla Glass technology reduced the weight of the vehicle by 12 pounds. Removing this amount of mass from above the vehicle belt line (a horizontal line that bisects the car just below the side windows) lowered the supercar’s center of gravity and led to enhanced stability and auto performance, which enhances acceleration, fuel economy, and braking performance.

The introduction of GGfA in the auto industry is the result of a long-standing relationship Corning and Ford have shared. Corning provided the emission control solution for the auto industry to meet new air quality standards under the 1970 Clean Air Act and has been one of the market leaders in that industry since.

Corning continues to look for ways to expand the applications of Gorilla Glass. By introducing the technology into windshields for the automotive industry, Corning is changing the driving experience.