Guardian Industries has announced that its research team has developed DiamondGuard, a high endurance glass which retains its like-new appearance for longer than ordinary glass.
The diamond-like carbon coating could encourage architects or furniture manufacturers to use glass for applications that were previously reserved for other materials.
Beyond traditional applications such as counter tops, tables and mirrors, Guardian state that DiamondGuard is suitable for demanding applications including trade show displays, staircases and railings, elevators and wall partitions.
This versatility has already won over such customers as the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas and the Empire State Building in New York, two examples of challenging high traffic environments.
Available in Europe in annealed and temperable versions, DiamondGuard meets the requirements of the various European Building Regulations and Standards for safety glass, making it suitable for public use.
Laboratory tests have shown DiamondGuard’s surface to have exceptional resistance to abrasion after thousands of contacts with ordinary items when compared with regular glass.
Guardian Industries Science & Technology Center developed DiamondGuard, leveraging a patented Russian space travel ion beam technology and the physical properties of nanoscopic carbon structures.
The DiamondGuard layer consists of carbon atoms that are merged with the glass’s surface through a vacuum deposition coater. This production process, developed by Guardian, creates a nanoscopic carbon layer with a very low coefficient of friction that gives the glass increased resistance to normal wear.
