METAGLAS^® sight window products have unmatched strength and integrity & offer the ultimate solution to operator and process safety. These incredibly durable products far exceed the pressure and impact resistance of conventional toughened glass.

METAGLAS® safety sight glasses are used widely in the food & pharmaceutical industries to prevent glass contamination. They are also very popular in the chemical industry where conventional toughened glass breakage can lead to harmful explosions & leakage that endanger operators and cause expensive production down time.

METAGLAS® products are manufactured & rigorously tested to European & American standards & are supplied complete with material test certificates

Why is Metaglas^® so strong?

METAGLAS^® is manufactured by melting glass inside a metal ring. This results in fusion of the glass to the metal. On cooling the glass solidifies and the steel ring attempts to contract because of the difference in the linear coefficient of expansion between the glass & the metal.

This produces a uniform compressive stress throughout the glass.

Glass is incredibly strong under compression. Consequently the resulting window has a very high resistance to high pressures and mechanical shock and is the most secure sight glass for sight window or visual flow indicators.

METAGLAS® versus Thermally Toughened Glass

With thermally toughened glass such as Toughened Sodalime to DIN 8902 or BS 3463 or Borosilicate to DIN 7080 or BS3463 only the skin is toughened. The skin of the glass is under compression (where glass is strong) and the inner parts of the glass are under stress (where glass is weak). Consequently any surface damage to the skin such as erosion or scratches or any stress caused by uneven bolting of sightports can lead to sudden catastrophic failure.

METAGLAS® is mechanically toughened and the entire cross section is under compression. Consequently any surface damage such as a scratch or erosion is limited to local areas and does not affect the strength and integrity of the glass. Likewise, uneven stresses such as those caused by uneven bolting will not cause METAGLAS® to fail. This is why METAGLAS® has such superior strength to conventional thermally toughened glass.