Fabricated float and borosilicate glass for biotechnology, microelectronics, photovoltaics, security, process equipment, lighting, analytical, and high-volume OEM applications.
IRD is an official distributor of SCHOTT BOROFLOAT®, so material access and fabrication sit with the same supplier. Machining, edge work, strengthening, coating, patterning, and inspection are quoted around the finished component rather than the raw sheet — and on a new design the manufacturability review is free of charge.
Float glass is selected for availability and value, then processed around exposure, transmission, strength, geometry, and edge requirements.
A material chosen for availability and cost, then fabricated and inspected like a precision component rather than a sheet.
Clear, colourless borosilicate float glass with strong transmission, very weak fluorescence, and resistance to water and acids — exposure leaches only small amounts of ions, so the glass barely influences the measurement.
Highly resistant to water, strong acids, alkalis, impact, and heat, with chemical resistance better than most metals and long-term service above 100 °C.
Clear and tinted material plus optical coatings applied during manufacture for light transmission, heat, insulation, and ultraviolet performance.
Blanks and finished components sawn, waterjet cut, diced, machined, edged, strengthened, coated, and inspected to the customer print.
Float glass earns its place on availability and price. What decides the finished-part cost is the route it takes after the sheet arrives.
Excellent light transmission with very weak fluorescence across the spectrum, thermal stability, impact resistance, and chemical resistance better than most metals. Exposure to water and acids leaches only small amounts of ions from the glass, so measurements taken through it are hardly influenced by the receptacle.
Sawing runs to ±.001 inch best case up to 14 × 8 × 1 inches; waterjet reaches ±.005 inch across 40 × 24 × 2 inches; dicing holds ±.0005 inch up to 8 inch diameter at .300 inch thick. Choosing the route at design review is what keeps dimension, edge condition, and cost from fighting each other.
Optical coatings can be applied where light transmittance matters, patterned coatings for filters, gauges, and datums, and chemical or heat strengthening where the component takes impact or thermal shock. Keeping them in one route means the inspected surface is the delivered surface.
IRD reports that Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory uses thin, roughly 1 mm disposable BOROFLOAT® debris shields in fusion experiments in place of fused silica, taking up to ten shots before replacement. Sapphire lasts longer still at a higher initial price. Which one wins depends on replacement frequency, not on unit cost.
Float glass is often chosen for cost and availability. Finished-part economics still depend on size, thickness, edge work, strength, coating, and inspection.
| Attribute | Typical | Best case | Application note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sawing | ±.005″ | ±.001″ | Blanking and sizing to 14″ × 8″ × 1″ |
| Waterjet | ±.010″ | ±.005″ | Profiles to 40″ × 24″ × 2″ |
| Dicing | ±.005″ | ±.0005″ | Small-format repeated components to 8″ dia |
| Machining | ±.005″ dimension | ±.0001″ | Mounting features, profiles, and custom geometry |
| Polishing | Ra < 1 µin | Ra < 5 Å | Optical faces and performance-critical surfaces |
These are IRD's published process capability figures across materials and formats, not a guarantee for a given print. Thickness, format, edge condition, coating, and inspection method all move them, and every feature is quoted individually. Material availability is subject to SCHOTT supply, so confirm sheet thickness and lead time at quote rather than designing around assumed stock.
Cell-based production keeps the material, cutting route, edge quality, strengthening, coating, inspection, packaging, and replenishment plan connected as quantities grow. The cell owns the part from raw-material order to shipment, which is what stops a cost-driven material choice from becoming a quality problem at volume.
The IRD AdvantageUse these lists to frame the first review. The drawing, environment, performance requirement, inspection method, and volume determine the final route.
A web page is hard to attach to a review packet. These are IRD's own published technical documents on the questions this page raises.
What Borofloat 33 brings to optical windows, filters, mirrors, bulletproof systems, debris shields, and chemically resistant viewports, and where its transmission and thermal stability matter most.
ArticleTechnical articleWhere BOROFLOAT® and sapphire replace fused silica as debris shields, including the Lawrence Livermore fusion-experiment example, and how replacement frequency changes the cost comparison.
ArticleApplication noteWhy Borofloat suits LiDAR windows, mirrors, and filter substrates, and what IRD adds beyond material access when the component has to survive road exposure and thermal cycling.
ArticleThe finished component often crosses product categories. These pages cover the nearest materials, processes, and program contexts.
Send the print with the finished dimensions and thickness, the edge condition you need, any coating, patterning, or strengthening, the exposure the part will see in service, annual volume, and the packaging and replenishment model. For a new design, the technical team runs a no-cost Design for Manufacturability review before quoting, then estimates prototype and production volumes separately.
Or call 320.693.7217. If you are comparing Borofloat against fused silica or sapphire for a consumable, bring the replacement interval — that is usually what decides it.