From production to the finished Griesshaber glass shower
If you take a look behind the scenes of glass production, you will see numerous production steps up to the finished glass shower. But what happens before glass production? The components of our glass showers consist of soda-lime silicate glass and fittings made of various materials, such as brass, zinc alloys, aluminum and stainless steel.
What is glass actually made of and how is it made?
Glass consists primarily of the raw materials quartz sand, soda, sulfite, dolomite and lime. One of the main components is silica sand. In addition, dolomite and lime powders ensure sufficient stability. The addition of sulfate powder does not cause bubbles to form in the glass. Finally, soda powder lowers the melting point of the mixture. After extracting the natural raw materials, they are melted with the help of enormous heat and glass is produced. In the melting furnace, all components are heated to 1,600 degrees, which initially produces a liquid glass, the so-called glass melt. This step is carried out in fireproof tanks, then the glass is drawn or pressed.
For our Griesshaber glass showers, we use soda-lime silicate glass, which is today the most commonly used glass in construction. In addition to good light transmission, it has a smooth and pore-free surface. By using quartz sand with a low iron oxide content, the green coloration is virtually eliminated, so that it has virtually no color of its own and can be described as white glass.
Certain alloys and materials are used to mount our glass showers. The different alloys offer various advantages. Stainless steel alloys mean that, in addition to their high hardness, the chromium content in stainless steel ensures good corrosion resistance and rustproofness. Brass alloys, consisting of copper and zinc, also have the advantage that they are harder than pure copper and are also extremely resistant to corrosion and wear.
Zinc alloy also offers several advantages. The zinc die casting we use is an alloy known as ZAMAK, consisting of Z-zinc, A-aluminum, MA-magnesium, and K-copper. By adding aluminum, magnesium and copper, the zinc becomes harder and more resistant. ZAMAK die casting can produce better and uniform surfaces that do not require any post-processing.
