What are the standard manufacturing tolerances for specialty architectural glass?
Bendheim’s vertically-integrated production facilities and skilled workers fully fabricate specialty architectural glass to the client’s specification, within the standard glass industry tolerances. In-house processes include: cutting, polishing, carving, back-painting, tempering, and several types of lamination. Learn about our capabilities here: bendheim.com/capabilities.
MANUFACTURING TOLERANCES
Cutting:
- For 1/8” (3 mm) to 1/4” (6 mm) thick glass = +/-1/16” (+/-1.5 mm)
- For 3/8” (10 mm) to 3/4” (19 mm) thick glass = +/-1/8” (+/-3 mm)
- For patterns & shapes of any glass thickness = +/-1/8” (+/-3 mm)
Edgework:
- Minimum thickness = 5/32” (4 mm)
- Minimum piece size = 2.5” x 2.5” (64 mm x 64 mm)
- Minimum Width to Height ratio of the piece = 1 to 10
Hole Drilling & Notching:
- Placement tolerances for 1/8” (3 mm) to 1/4” (6 mm) thick glass = +/-1/16” (+/-1.5 mm)
- Placement tolerances for 3/8” (10 mm) to 3/4” (19 mm) thick glass = +/-1/8” (+/-3 mm)
- Minimum radius for cut-outs and corners = the thickness of the glass
- Minimum diameter of holes for tempered glass only = 1/4” (6 mm) or the thickness of the glass, whichever is greater
Hole Location for Tempered Glass Only:
Glass Thickness | x-min. | d-min |
5/32” (4 mm) | 1/4” (6 mm) | 1 1/16” (27 mm) |
3/16” (5 mm) | 5/16” (8 mm) | 1 1/4” (32 mm) |
1/4” (6 mm) | 3/8” (10 mm) | 1 5/8” (41 mm) |
3/8” (10 mm) | 9/16” (15 mm) | 2 7/16” (37 mm) |
1/2” (12 mm) | 3/4” (19 mm) | 3 1/4” (83 mm) |
3/4” (19 mm) | 1 1/2” (38 mm) | 6 1/2” (165 mm) |
Tempering:
- Min. thickness = 5/32” (4 mm)
- Max. size for 5/32” (4 mm) thickness = 20 sq. ft.
- Max. size for 3/16” (5 mm) or greater thickness = 69” x 145” (1.75 m x 3.68 m)
- Min. diagonal dimension = 9” (229 mm)
Lamination:
- Max. size = 72” x 130” (1.83 m x 3.3 m)
- Min. size = 1” x 1” (25 mm x 25 mm)
Fabrication Drawings:
When drawings are required to highlight specific fabrication details, please submit clear and detailed sketches, complete with all required information, i.e., hole & notch location, radius, etc. Every drawing submitted should be labeled with the corresponding Bendheim order number to ensure proper fabrication.
Custom Waterjet-Cut & Engraved Glass:
Please provide the required specialty font(s) and artwork in Windows TrueType format for fonts, vector files for graphics.
Custom Color Back-Painted Glass:
Color matching within 0.05 tolerance
If you have a question or concern, please fill out the form below to contact a Bendheim Representative and we will reach back out to you in a timely manner. You may also call us at 800.221.7379 anytime between 9:00 am – 5:00 pm EST (Mon–Fri, except holidays).