The technical committee of The Glass Association of North America (GANA) discussed a series of issues regarding glass products at its recent conference. Other than these discussions, the group also heard presentations on heat-treated glass design and the measurement of surface edge compression.
At the recently held conference of The Glass Association of North America (GANA), discussions included those surrounding glass products.
The technical committee, chaired by Mike Rupert of PPG Industries, discussed the efforts of a task group chaired by Jeff Nixon of Glass Coatings and Concepts to update the Engineering Standards Manual. Nixon reported that they are hoping to have a ballot out by Thanksgiving, while Rupert next gave a report on the Applications for Heat-Treated Glass glass informational bulletin (GIB).
Other documents in the works for the division include a Heavy Glass Door design guide, as well as Guidelines for the Production of Heat-Treated Glass.
Chuck Wencl of Viracon reported that the Methods of Measuring Optical Distortion in Heat-Treated Flat Architectural Glass GIB has been published, with a question regarding the development of a related standard: “If we don’t create a standard in the industry, someone else is going to,” he said. The group decided to keep the task group open for further consideration.
The update to the Proper Procedures for Cleaning Architectural Flat Glass Products was also discussed during the meeting, which GANA is doing with the International Window Cleaning Association. The group is planning a task group meeting in the next 30-45 days, and hopes to have the document finalized by the end of the year.
Under new business, Dave Evans with Guardian Industries provided a report on efforts to update ANSI Z97.1 with new language on testing bent, tempered glass, which notes that edges will remain supported and the specimen will be tested with the convex side facing up.
The group also noted that there have been efforts within ASTM to update E1300 to include structural glass.
The group also heard two presentations: Dr. Stephen Morse of TexasTech University discussed some of the various topics that are being considered as far as changes to ASTM E1300, including heat-treated glass design, and Joel Feingold of Strainoptics spoke on “Measuring Surface Edge Compression to Comply with ASTM and International Standards.”