Stained Glass Manufacturing Technologies Automatic translate

An artistic stained-glass window is a design element, in most cases - a hand-made pattern made of pieces of glass according to the initial image pre-marked for sectors. Under the concept of "artistic stained glass" it is customary to single out glass, assembled and brazed on profiles of various metal. Sometimes they call stained glass a simple panoramic glazing of rooms. The manufacturing technology is very time-consuming, the materials are expensive, as a result - the high price of this decor element. Modern stained-glass windows, as more economical options, are made by gluing ordinary glass with film, with a printed pattern, or by assembling parts of a composition from plexiglass. As profiles, for framing glass, profiles of lead, aluminum or copper foil are used.

Stained glass paintings amaze with their splendor and the play of light passing through them. Gothic stained glass windows of religious or palace themes are especially monumental. Amazingly, in the ceremonial halls of the Venetian Palazzo Doge, Venetian glass chandeliers combined with no less magnificent mosaics and stained-glass windows made by Venetian and Florentine masters. In Russia, one of the technologies for manufacturing stained glass windows - mosaic, was revived by M. Lomonosov and used in the typesetting of St. Isaac’s Cathedral.

The history of this technology dates back to the thirteenth century, then it was already fully formed in Europe and, almost unchanged, has survived to this day. According to the classical technology, the glasses for the composition were cut out according to a life-size drawing, then each glass was framed with lead wire, the parts were soldered at the joints between each other in the final version of the picture and framed for installation.

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Of the technologies for manufacturing stained-glass windows, four classic and two modern ones can be distinguished:

1. The technology of the classical art stained-glass window, which has come down to our days from the past without undergoing practically any changes. The sketch of the picture is done on thick paper or cardboard in full size. Then the sketch is cut into patterns of different sizes, which will be parts of the color scheme, the main figures of the composition. Glass blanks are cut out on paper patterns, pre-assembled into a picture, and if necessary, processed at the joints for tight adherence to the profile. They are framed in metal and soldered in turn. Depending on the type of painting and drawing, a profile of various thicknesses can be used to convey accents. To achieve a special contrast, a patina can be applied to the initial profile. The finished picture is framed and installed in a pre-prepared opening. The quality of the preparation of the opening and installation are of great importance, since the stained-glass window is a fragile product that does not tolerate even the slightest deformation.

2. Tiffany technology (by the name of an American inventor). According to this technology, pieces of glass are framed with copper foil before soldering. Due to the flexibility of the seam, it became possible to combine parts into three-dimensional structures - balls, cubes. Now, not only windows and ceiling shapes can be made from stained glass elements, but also decorative elements - lamps, vases and others. The seam itself is very thin, the elements can be "typed" even very small. The structural strength is often superior to that obtained by classical technology.

3. Fusing technology. It is based not on the framing of elements in a profile for soldering, but on the sintering of colored glass in an oven. The main disadvantage of the stained-glass window made by this technology is the inability to replace individual damaged elements. Advantage: colored glass at a certain temperature can be given the effect of “cracked”, “blur” the color, give the desired volume and shape.

4. Mosaic technology. It involves the application (gluing) of prepared pieces of glass or stone on a substrate with a pattern. Not only panoramic canvases can be made of mosaics, but also used to decorate swimming pools and facades.

5. Plastic technology. Pieces of the composition are made according to classical technology, but not from glass, but from plexiglass, which is easily cut according to patterns of any curvature and is easy to glue.

6. Film coating technology. The drawing (or parts thereof) prepared on the film is applied to the transparent glass. Depending on the place of application of such a stained-glass window, the glass can be divided into sections by connectors that visually mimic the classic stained-glass window profile. The simplest and, therefore, economical technology.

The stained-glass window requires accuracy in handling, but is absolutely unpretentious in leaving. For permanent care, detergents are used for ordinary glasses without abrasive. Scratches that may appear during use can be removed by sanding.