GLASS FURNISHINGS AND INTERIORS

Glass is a material that has been used since ancient times. The first documented use dates back to the second millennium BC in Egypt, for the production of crockery and jewellery. Common glass is composed of silicon dioxide to which other substances are added in order to facilitate its processing, improve its performance and make the product suitable for various uses. To obtain different colours, you can add metals such as manganese, selenium, cobalt, tin oxide and many others.

There are different types of glass:

• etched glass is obtained with a chemical treatment based on the use of hydrofluoric acid, which has the property of affecting the glass and giving it a particular appearance

• mirrored glass is made by adhering a layer of silver to the surface of the plate in order to obtain the reflective effect

• float glass is the glass produced with the "floating" technique. Its production takes place by pouring molten glass onto a tin bath. During this operation, carried out in a controlled atmosphere, the glass floats on the pond and expands to form a smooth and homogeneous slab. Once solidified it is heated and polished.

The glass can be blown into special moulds in order to obtain any shape, or cast for ornamental purposes.

The glass can be cut using a special cutting table, a machine able to make incisions on the glass with the utmost precision.

The cut glass has irregular but above all sharp edges, which must be properly eliminated by grinding, carried out by hand or with special machines.

This used to be carried out using drills equipped with diamond heads, however now the drilling is carried out using new high pressure water jets.