Bill Caruthers, age13, of Springfield, I11.,for his question:
HOW IS FIBERGLASS MADE?
Fiberglass is glass in the form of fine fibers or threads. Sometimes it is called fibrous glass. Often it is many times finer than human hair and may look and feel like silk. Fiberglass is made from sand and other raw material used to make ordinary glass.
Strands of fiberglass may be made in different ways.In one method, the raw materials are heated and formed into small glass marbles so workers can examine them for impurities. The marbles are then melted in special electronic furnaces.
The melted glass from the marbles runs down through tiny holes at the bottom of the furnace. A spinning drum catches the fibers of hot glass and winds them on bobbins, like threads on spools. Because the drum revolves much faster than the glass flows,tension pulls the fibers and draws them out into still finer strands.
The drum can pull out two miles of fibers in a minute. Up to 95 miles of fiber can be drawn from one marble that measures a mere five Bights of an inch in diameter. The fiber can be twisted together into yarns and cords. The yarns may be woven into cloth or tape.
In another method of making fiberglass, called the direct melt process, the marble making steps are omitted. Bulk fiberglass or fiberglass wool is made somewhat differently. Sand and other raw materials are melted in a furnace. The melted glass then flows from tiny holes in the furnace and high pressure jets of steam catch it and draw it into fine fibers from eight to 15 inches long. The fibers are gathered on a conveyor belt in the form of a white wool like mass.
Fiberglass is woven into cloth to make such products as curtains and tablecloths. The cloth does not change its properties when dyed. It will not wrinkle or soil easily and needs no ironing after washing. In bulk form, fiberglass is used for air filters and for heat and sound insulation.
Egyptians used coarse glass fibers for decorative purposes before the time of Christ. So we know that this type of product was used tin ancient times.
An American glass manufacturer named Edward Drummond Libbey exhibited a dress made of fiberglass and silk at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.
During World War I, fiberglass was made in Germany as a substitute for asbestos. Finally, in experiments conducted from 1931 to 1939,the Owens Illinois Glass Company (now called Owens I1linois,Inc.) and the Corning Glass Works developed practical methods of making fiberglass commercially.
Today manufacturers use fiberglass reinforced plastics to make automobile bodies, boat hulls, building panels,fishing rods and even aircraft parts. The fibers used to strengthen plastic may be woven or matted together, or they may be individual strands. The form used depends on the nature and price of the final product.
Fiberglass reinforced plastics are extremely strong and light in weight. They can be molded, shaped, twisted and poured for many different uses.