From the raw glass received from the major manufacturers such as Saint Gobain Glass to the double-glazed windows or other objects made of processed glass delivered daily from our factory, whole lines of production transform this material by giving it a shape, a colour and personality.

Giba Iași has as object the processing of glass through various procedures, offering the finished product to customers, under the form of double-glazed, tempered, Low-E windows, sandblasted glass or glass cut in special shapes, ornamental or decorative glass.

Although the generic term often used for any piece of glass is “window”, we should mention the fact that, in technical terms, the window or double-glazed window is an assembly of glass sheets and layers of spacers or spacer sticks which is subsequently attached to a joinery element by the manufacturers of double-glazed windows. However, the glass can be simple as it comes from the factory producing it or it can be sandblasted, polished or subject to another processing procedure, but it is presented in its final form as a stand-alone element.

Below are the main procedures of processing through which we transform raw glass into finished products:

Cutting      

Any work starts by cutting the glass to the desired size using software that is integrated into the system for optimization. Cutting is performed on a computer numerically controlled automatic table (CNC). This allows cutting the sheet of glass in an optimal way so as to have losses that are as small as possible. It is a sort of “tailoring” in glass through which stencils are cut, resulting in pieces of glass cut to a certain size that are to pass through other forms of processing.

Raw glass is purchased exclusively from the French company, Saint Gobain Glass, a world leader in the production of flat glass.

Polishing

There are several types of polishing according to the use of glass. Stress relief is simple polishing made with strips in cross in order to remove the small cracks on the glass edges, cracks that can occur during the cutting process.

Polishing that is made with the MCM (edge-cant-edge) type cerium oxide (grinding) fulfills the functions related to stress relief, but it also adds a touch of elegance to glass. MCM processing is usually used for doors, handrails, partitions and glass furniture.

GIBA Iași has equipment specialized in glass polishing.

Sandblasting

There are two types of sandblasting, mechanical and chemical sandblasting. In our country, mechanical sandblasting is mainly used. Mechanical sandblasting is performed by spreading sand on the glass or other materials in order to make them frosted. In fact, hence comes the name of the procedure (“sable” means sand in French).

We can obtain frosting to a lesser or greater degree, even 3D effects, depending on the pressure of the sand and the duration of sandblasting – see gallery

Chemical sandblasting is performed by applying a solution on the surface of glass, the result obtained being chemical glazing.

Our company has invested in precision machines in the latest years, in order to achieve the sandblasting process which allows us to produce the glass with different degrees of sandblasting for various uses. For example, people request more frosted glass for shower cabinets and only slightly frosted glass for office doors.

The whole process is semi-automatic, combining the precision and the efficiency of machines with the skills of craftsmen who apply fine processing that confers a unique touch.
Our equipment allows us to even perform sandblasting for an area, on certain patterns or even writing texts or logos, which confers to the final product, whether they are doors or windows, an elegant design, at the same time with customized elements.

Lamination

It is the process of layering two or more sheets of glass in order to improve the mechanical strength, sound insulation, solar control. A thin, very resistant plastic and elastic PVA or PVB film is inserted between the sheets of glass in order to keep them stuck together. The film can be clear, decorative, of an opaque, transparent colour or even photographic print. Conex (duplex/ anti-theft) glass is laminated glass.

Laminated glass can be used for exterior windows or doors, but also for roofs or attics.

This procedure of processing glass is over 100 years old, being discovered in 1903 by Édouard Benedictus.

Drilling/ Cutting out

Drilling and cutting out is performed for hinges, handles and systems for fixing glass doors, for fitting glass partitions, for wall covering with glass or other uses. Due to the technology used, we can make holes and cutouts in iron, tin, marble, granite or other materials. One of the technologies we use to perform this procedure is Water Jet, which allows us to carry out very accurate processes, making cutouts according to the pattern or holes exactly on the desired diameter. This procedure requires a lot of precision so that the finished product can be successfully used in our customers’ projects.