Soda-Lime Glasses

Soda-lime glass is the most common and least expensive form of glass. For that reason, soda-lime, or soda-lime-silica glass can be found in windows, glass containers, dinnerware, bakeware, lighting products, and many other manufactured glass items. In fact, about 90% of the world’s glass is composed of soda-lime glass. Soda-lime glass is also commonly referred to as “float glass,” because of its ability to be floated. Because of its low softening temperature, soda-lime glass is often formed by floating on a bed of molten tin, creating low-cost, optically clear glass sheets.

Soda-lime glass can also easily be tempered, making the material up to three times stronger than non-tempered glass. This type of toughened glass can be found in vehicle windows, shower doors, and more, due to its unique ability to cause less injury than non-tempered glass when shattered. Soda-lime glass can also be chemically strengthened to improve scratch resistance and hardness. However, borosilicate glasses are much stronger and harder, so they are often used in applications that require this characteristic.