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Auto Glass Industry - the future of windshields is becoming clear
By gguild | January 27, 2008
Although we don’t know exactly what the future will look like, the future of windshields is clear. Thirty years from now today’s sleek, modern windshields will look as quaint to us as those flat, two-piece windshields on Grandpa’s car did in the fifties. Aside from providing a clear view of the road ahead, windshields have the potential to become better ultraviolet, infrared and visible light filters. New windshield research also is coming up with some interesting new utilities that will enhance driving. Clearly, at the very least, tomorrow’s windshields will feature new styles, functionalities and additional safety in one form or another.
Anything to do with cars has something to do with style
If you didn’t know that almost everything about new cars is about style, then you need to pay more attention to their advertising. Although safety is a concern, and utility is an interest, style is the element that brings drivers into the showroom. The new color windshields, one of the most interesting new looks in automobile windshields, actually have quite a bit of utility associated with them. The blue color of the glass does not come from a tint; it is a layer of a nanocomposite coating material that resides between the layers of safety glass. Nanocomposites are materials that are created by introducing nanoparticulates into a microscopic sample material–part of the growing field of nanotechnology. Nanoscience and nanotechnology both involve studying and working with matter on an ultra-small scale. This technology is built around the use of single atoms and which depends on individual atoms for functionality.
Color Windshields: stylish, yet almost indestructible
Since the nanocomposite layer is not a film, it never scratches, bubbles, deforms or fades. The optical quality of the glass is similar to the blue-blocking sunglasses that filter blue tints. Therefore, by absorbing certain frequencies of light, the windshield reduces the effect of haze and glare—seemingly clearing the visual elements natural in the atmosphere. Even more importantly, the nanocomposite coating filters out over 90% of the infrared emissions which not only keeps the heat down it the car for comfort, but protects the interior from cracking and aging. The air conditioner also runs more efficiently, thus increasing mileage and saving fuel. That’s quite a fulfillment for “just a piece of glass.” Colored glass is already here as a limited edition of it has been manufactured and is in accordance with federal motor vehicle safety standards. Because windshields can become cooler, clearer, and stronger, future automobile styles will probably feature much more glass and less metal which will greatly improve visibility while reducing blind spots. A vibrant colored windshield that still complies with the 70% light transmittance regulations required for vehicle glass visibility? What more could we want?
Gadgets abound in the new cars—is the windshield new turf for gadgetry?
The first time you drive with someone who has one of the new combo navigation/satellite radio/stereo player/CD burner and whatever, you wonder how (with all that distraction) does one stay on the road! Such new innovations in automobiles have been slowly occurring for a long time but they seem to have reached a noticeable critical mass in the past couple of years. It wasn’t so long ago that radio antennas were imbedded in the windshield and heaters for de-icing were imbedded in the rear windows. In their time, they were quite novel adaptations. These newest of innovations on automobiles are here today, and the next generation seems to be handling it quite well even if the older generation is not.
More than just a heads-up . . .
Although heads-up displays have been a great efficiency aid in military aircraft, so far they have not penetrated the automotive industry—but that too is changing. Transparent nano-transistors and transparent nano-wiring exist today and are well suited for windshield and heads-up technology development. The possibilities for use are also not limited to the functions of the automobile. Like the widgets on a MAC computer that display time, temperature, notes, and other information in a semi-see-through format, such displays on a windshield could actually be a help by keeping some notes and information within the proper field of vision, reducing the need to look aside while driving. How transparent, yet readable, the displays are will have a lot to do with how safe and unobtrusive such functionality will be and therefore how acceptable it becomes to the driving public.
Isn’t expense going to be a limiting factor?
The expense of both the manufacturing and the replacement of such enhanced-capability glass would be costly indeed, unless the glass becomes more durable. Research on tougher transparent materials is largely carried out by the military. The latest innovations involve oxides of metals such as platinum and aluminum, but the costs to manufacture are still quite high. Presently, armored glass costs about $3 per square inch to manufacture but transparent metallic oxides such as aluminum oxynitride (brand name, ALON) costs between $10 and $15 per square inch and that is mostly the costs of heating and polishing the material in the final stages. Too bad we can’t find a way to make glass out of rusty iron—then it would be even more economical! On the up side, making transparent metallic glass stronger is a matter of adding fractions of millimeters to the thickness instead of layers upon layers as is necessary with glass. Transparent metallic oxide materials are many, many times stronger than any other clear, glass-like material but much, much lighter.
Today is yesterday’s tomorrow
It’s a thrilling time to be living with so many advancements in so much technology changing so quickly with each passing year. We live in an age where yesterday we couldn’t dream of a windshield that has the potential to be more durable than the entire rest of the car, and yet we can produce these materials today. Durable as it may become, it will still need to be replaced from time to time and you should always make sure that the installer is technology-savvy with that windshield installation just as it remains important for today’s windshield replacements. It is clear to see that instruments, driving information, light filtration, visibility enhancement and many other inventive miracles are down the road and just coming into view. Not only is it a thrilling time to be living, but many of these future enhancements may actually prove to save lives.