3. Manufacturing processes
Glass fibers can be manufactured using either "direct melting" (continuous melting of glass in a furnace) or "indirect melting" (melting of glass by remelting cullet in the form of pellets or beads) processes. Here, we will limit ourselves to describing the most common direct melting process, as it optimizes pull rates (quantity of glass fiber produced per day), production yields, and therefore production costs.
The process of manufacturing fiberglass involves several steps:
preparation of the batch (or mixture of vitrifiable materials ready for melting);
the melting of the batch to obtain glass in a liquid state;
fiber optic cabling;
glass coating (application of a thin layer of organic solutions onto the fiber);...
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Manufacturing processes
Industrial presentations of textile glass reinforcements
Bibliography
- (1) - BERTHEREAU (A.) - High Performance Glass Fibers, previous & future trends - [Communication orale]. ACMA Composites 2012 Conference, Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV (02/2012). http://www.acmashow.org
- ...
Standards and norms
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
- Textile glass – - ISO 1886 - (1995)
- Textile glass – - ISO 1887 - (1995)
- Textile glass – Discontinuous fibers and filaments – - ISO 1888 - (2022)
- Reinforcement wire – - ISO 1889 - (2009)
- Reinforcement wire – - ISO 1890 - (2009)
- Textile glass – Son...
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Suppliers
These companies hold more than 85% of the global market.
Owens Corning
Johns Manville
Saint Gobain Vetrotex
Economic data
Reinforcing fiberglass market in 2024 (Owens Corning, 2025)
7.3 million tons worldwide.
Demand has grown over recent decades, with a growth rate consistently higher than that of industrial production (historically by a factor of 1.5 to 1.6).
Annual growth of 3.6% expected over the period 2024-2030.
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