What is the development history of glass window film?
The development history of glass window film is inseparable from the development history of its raw materials and process equipment, especially the development history of vacuum evaporation coating technology.
The United States began to develop polyethylene-based glass window film (tea paper) in the 1960s. At that time, most buildings used ordinary float glass, and the energy consumption caused by door and window glass accounted for more than 1/3 of the entire building. When people transferred membrane materials used in aerospace to building doors and windows, they found that it could significantly improve the thermal insulation and energy-saving properties of buildings. Therefore, major companies began to conduct research on glass window films. 3M Company issued the first patent for solar insulation film in 1966. The worldwide energy crisis in 1970 prompted people to accelerate the development of glass films. The vacuum evaporation coating process was applied to PET base films, which made great progress in glass window film technology.
In 1977, Deposition Technology, Inc. (Deposition Technology, Inc. of the United States) (the company was acquired by the Belgian Bekaert Group in 1991 to form Bekaert Special Coating Company) applied advanced magnetron sputtering production to the U.S. Air Force and NASA. Technology was introduced into the glass window film industry, and in the early 1980s it became the first manufacturer in the world to use the magnetron sputtering process to produce glass window films. Compared with the vacuum evaporation coating process of other glass window film manufacturers, the biggest advantage It is possible to make stainless steel, titanium, nickel, gold, silver, copper and other metals into a transparent heat-insulating alloy layer, so that the glass window film has a high visual clarity while greatly improving the heat-insulating function, and solves the problem of staining. , The glass window film produced by the vacuum evaporation coating process has defects such as high reflection and easy fading. In 1985, the company produced magnetron sputtered glass window film with a width of 1540mm.
The American Shaohua Technology Company is mainly engaged in the development and production of spectrally selective films required for military and space technology. In the mid-1980s, the company transferred the XIR patented technology derived from the application of thin film components for space vehicles to civilian use and began commercial high-performance Commercial production of glass window film. XIR is highly transparent to visible light in sunlight and selectively blocks almost all infrared and ultraviolet radiation, establishing a leading position in the field of thin film and material technology.
Israel's Hanita Company began the production of safety films in the 1990s. It was originally developed for military applications and was commissioned by Jewish scientists from NASA to apply protective films to glass to prevent bullets and explosives from damaging people and objects in war. to reduce damage and losses to military equipment and facilities. As the international situation eases, this kind of protective film produced for military purposes has gradually become a commercial civilian product, providing people with safety protection on all glass, especially its application on building curtain walls, and its application in energy-saving and thermal insulation. It plays a significant role in flame blocking applications and provides ideal materials. This safety film production technology has been transferred by Hanita Company to various parts of the world, including the United States and Japan, through technology transfer.
Entering the 21st century, glass window film manufacturers have made breakthroughs in technology. Films with unique high penetration of visible light and high thermal control that can repel heat have come out. They use conventional window films as a laminate and use films with different functions. The film is bonded and superimposed layer by layer, so that the film can increase the impact resistance of the glass by more than a hundred times on the premise of higher light transmittance, heat insulation rate, and ultraviolet shielding rate. In recent years, especially after the "911" incident in the United States, glass window film, as a new building material, has been increasingly used for building doors, windows, partitions, ceilings and security protection in the banking industry.
