Three innovative solutions that are part of our transparencies—three concrete examples to present a brief but insightful roadmap of Isoclima’s projects.

One of the characteristics that set us apart in the market is our versatility—we might even say our ‘chameleon-like’ adaptability. For every project, we always manage to find a precise and specific solution that combines high product quality with customer requirements. While many know us for our work in the automotive industry, such as electrically dimmable glass, our expertise is also sought in other prestigious sectors like yachting and aerospace. These three examples are tangible proof.

Directly from the Future: Variable Transparency

Have you ever heard of variable transparency? It is a technology that allows optical properties to be modulated through human or artificial intelligence. The key drivers of this innovation are comfort and the technological challenges posed by customers across various sectors. This technology functions as an optical window within the electromagnetic spectrum, with the ability to control transmittance in both the visible and infrared range. This allows users to choose between visibility or privacy while regulating the amount of solar radiation that enters a space.

Lightweight, Thin, Yet Resistant: Our Glass for Human Safety

It may sound like a paradox, but it’s not. How can a lightweight and thin glass protect people? The answer lies in cutting-edge technology. Our transparencies safeguard against both intentional and accidental threats, ensuring maximum safety for people and objects within a given environment. This is achieved by employing front-end technologies that minimize weight and thickness without compromising exceptional resistance. Just like electrically dimmable glass, scientific advancements play a crucial role, alongside meticulous design and manufacturing expertise. We push glass to its limits to achieve the necessary performance against threats while also reducing weight and space requirements.

Transparencies That Communicate

It is a paradigm shift to think of glass surfaces evolving from passive design elements to active, connected components capable of receiving and transmitting information. We are developing products that are increasingly interconnected, enabling communication and the activation of specific functions. Specifically, electronic and photonic devices, such as integrated sensors and interactive displays, are embedded within the glass, allowing it to connect and exchange information.

If electrically dimmable glass seems futuristic, imagine something even more advanced. The future is already here, and at Isoclima, we are proud to be part of it.

A thermochemical cycle among the most reliable in the world, a processing that requires a deep knowledge of chemistry, based on sector studies and scientifically proven concepts. Talking about chemical tempering for ion exchange is like “diving” into a chemistry textbook and starting to flip through the pages full of formulas and principles resulting from cutting-edge studies. But let’s take a step back: why is chemical tempering used? When glass is subjected to tensile stresses, the presence of microscopic cracks (called fissures) on the surface intensifies the stresses at the edges, causing the cracks to spread and ultimately resulting in the glass breaking. These fissures represent the primary reason for the low mechanical resistance of the glass to stress, which is why a counteracting intervention is necessary to prevent the appearance of cracks.

How to solve the glass fissures

At this point, you don’t go directly to chemical tempering for ion exchange, but you choose. Once it’s understood that an internal surface precompression layer must be introduced to make the glass more resistant, the compression can be done in two ways: thermally or chemically. While thermal tempering works at high temperatures, chemical tempering allows overcoming some limitations of thermal tempering and achieving a more efficient product. Chemical tempering is praised and appreciated for guaranteeing a reduced thickness of the glass, regardless of its intended shape. It also allows maintaining perfect surface geometry, resulting in significantly superior tempering levels.

If the glass has a specific thickness, has complex curvatures, and needs to resist mechanical stress much higher than normal, thermal tempering is not the right option, and chemical tempering is applied, resulting in a stronger and more durable glass.

Ion exchange

So why do we talk about chemical tempering and ion exchange? In chemical tempering, the glasses to be treated are immersed in a bath of molten potassium salts at a temperature above 380°C, causing an exchange between the sodium ions on the surface of the glass and the potassium ions in the salt. Potassium ions are larger than sodium ions, which allows for the establishment of a system of residual stresses characterized by compression tensions on the surface balanced by tensile stresses inside the glass. In short, chemically tempered glass has a higher surface tension, and resistance compared to thermally tempered glass. In the event of breakage, thermally tempered glass shatters into small, non-sharp fragments, while chemically tempered glass breaks into larger, less sharp pieces than untreated glass. To break chemically tempered glass, a force 10/15 times greater than that required for thermally tempered glass is needed, which can tolerate stress 4/5 times higher than untreated glass. Due to the higher resistance of chemically tempered glass, do you still have doubts about which to choose?

They meet the most diverse needs thanks to their versatility and innovative technology, and they are highly sought after in the market. Multilayer panels have specific sizes and characteristics to provide customers with a product capable of meeting protection requirements ranging from the simplest to the most complex.

Such as? Protection from sunlight or external hazards is the most “basic” one. Solutions for shielding against electromagnetic interference, firearm attacks, or explosions are the most complex and specialized. Depending on the client’s requirements, a specific manufacturing process is carried out for the intended use of the panel.

Many products, one principle: technology and reliability

Every Isoclima-branded product is designed, developed, and manufactured following a principle that blends technology with reliability at every stage. In addition to this, our products offer a high level of customization, such as the size of multilayer panels, whose dimensions are naturally based on customer requirements. The multilayer panel consists of a float or Gorilla glass sheet with plastic films (PVB, polyurethane) and contains a combination of glass, polycarbonate, and the aforementioned plastic films. Based on customer requests, we incorporate films or metallic coatings to reduce the impact of solar radiation and/or electromagnetic interference. What determines the composition of the panel? The required security level, based on the potential threats faced by people inside the building. As a result, the panel serves various functions: it can be designed to protect against bullets or potential attacks and explosions.

How a multilayer panel is developed

The lamination of multilayer panels takes place in clean rooms with precise temperature and humidity control. The function of the clean room is to ensure defect-free products with excellent lamination reliability. Not only can the sizes of multilayer panels be customized, but they can also take various shapes, such as spherical, cylindrical, conical, flat, and more. During the lamination phase, certain technical requirements can be tailored depending on the final application. The lamination is performed in an autoclave, where specific heat and pressure are applied to each type of multilayer panel, a choice made based on the intended use conditions. The construction of multilayers is studied and certified according to their application needs. The main ones are:

• Thermal insulation
• 
  Solar control & UV/IR radiation filtering
• 
  Acoustic insulation
• 
  Decoration and design

To manufacture a multilayer panel, we can use either chemical tempering or thermal tempering, both of which further enhance mechanical resistance. One of our top products is Omnilite®, chosen as the glazing solution for the Italian Embassy in the United States. Transparency, strength, and lightness beyond any other product.

How do you make glass resistant to impacts and mechanical stress? There are essentially two processing techniques that allow this: chemical tempering and thermal tempering. In thermal tempering, as the name suggests, the processing is based on temperature. The glass is heated to a very high temperature, around 600°C, and then rapidly cooled, which makes it not only resistant to impacts but also to thermal shocks. In fact, a glass that has not undergone this process will break between 50 and 100°C, while a thermally tempered glass is perfectly balanced to resist various temperature fluctuations.

The chemical tempering processing

Chemical tempering works differently from thermal tempering, although the final purpose of the product is the same: to resist impacts and stress. Chemical tempering does not require high temperatures, which can be an advantage. On the other hand, however, it requires a very specific knowledge of raw materials to avoid issues during processing. While thermal tempering poses the risk of deforming the object due to high temperatures, this does not occur with chemical processing. The product obtained from chemical tempering is also suitable for complex-shaped objects, with a wide range of applications. With chemical tempering, part of the sodium ions in the surface layers of the glass are replaced by potassium ions, which are larger in size and promote the glass’s resistance. This happens at a temperature lower than the normal glass processing temperature of around 450°C.

Details and advantages of this processing

The compressed layer is very thin, in fact, chemically tempered glass is widely used in the automotive sector, also for its transparency.

For some, it may be a deterrent, but if processed correctly and with innovative technologies, chemically tempered glass is perfect for its intended use. The ion exchange we mentioned earlier takes place in molten potassium salt baths. During the process, an important phenomenon occurs: the level of residual stress is characterized by surface compression tensions compensated by tensile stresses inside the glass.

Since this processing represents our core business, we couldn’t help but invest in it. The first chemical tempering plant was installed in 1994 and processed sheets measuring 3.2 meters by 2 meters, a milestone that was unimaginable at the time and still in operation today. Since then, we have made great strides, and 2022 marks a significant turning point for us. We have installed a plant capable of processing sheets up to 10 meters, a capability that only our Este facilities can provide. And the first incredible results have not been long in coming: the laminated spherical glass intended for the naval sector is a product of high engineering and aesthetics, with exceptional characteristics such as multiradius 3D curvature, perfectly aligned sizes and geometries, and precise final performance that unmistakably bears our signature.

Do you know how bulletproof glass was created? The panels made of glass + polycarbonate for bulletproof purposes were developed after 1977 in the USA through the use of plastic resins that could securely bond the glass surface with the polycarbonate. Initially, its use was for aircraft windshields, where the reduction in weight of the composites offered a significant advantage over laminated glass. Not long after, in 1980, Isoclima acquired an exclusive license for Europe to use the synthesized polyurethane film. The purpose of this license was to allow the application of polyurethane in safety glass. We became the first to offer the market curved bulletproof glass made of glass and polycarbonate, capable of replacing the technologies that existed until then.

Since then, ballistic polycarbonate has come a long way, just like us.

Development of This Product for the Security Sector

Talking about ballistic polycarbonate, or commonly known as bulletproof glass, brings to mind something resistant, hard to scratch, behind which one feels protected and safe. At Isoclima, we are at the forefront of producing bulletproof and shatterproof glass with polycarbonate mounted on armored vehicles worldwide for both military and civilian use. What we do is focus on armored vehicles (bulletproof glass) for civilians and provide protection through armor for military vehicles and ships. These projects started long ago, and they continue to excite us even after all these years. We still fondly remember the first vehicle we installed Isoclima bulletproof glass on: it was the Alfa Romeo “Alfetta,” produced in Arese with a B4 protection level. In 1982, we followed with the Daimler W140 model, with the same level of protection: two icons that have made automotive history.

How We Got Here

We could call it curiosity, intuition, ingenuity, or simple inspiration: the evolution of our company regarding ballistic polycarbonate was born from a mix of all these things and the desire to explore new ideas, including the very concept of laminated bulletproof glass. Today, this product is the one that best identifies us in the market, making us undisputed leaders.

The real challenge was how to combine glass and polycarbonate, two obviously different materials with different thermal expansion coefficients, which led to our collaboration with Sierracin and the development of our most high-performance glass—OMNIARMOR®—which became our flagship product.

Over time, we developed other products, including:

• Glass capable of withstanding extreme weather conditions (-32 +45 °C), mechanical conditions (stones, desert mountains), and thermal variation. These glasses are equipped with heating systems, electromagnetic shielding, IR coating, ballistic steel and aluminum frames, anti-fog features, integrated radiofrequency and GPS antennas, and solar control.
• We are also suppliers for many Italian and foreign car manufacturers (Iveco Defence, Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis, Audi, BMW, Volkswagen Group) that provide vehicles for Heads of State, from the Carabinieri to the Police.

Our strength in ballistic polycarbonate is not just the quality of the product but also the tailor-made craftsmanship with which we produce each item that carries the Isoclima name around the world.

Are you wondering how to shield electromagnetic waves emitted by electronic devices? The answer is Emigard, our multilayer product designed to provide protection from electromagnetic waves.

Protecting ourselves from electromagnetic waves is sometimes absolutely essential, both professionally and in civilian contexts, as we are increasingly surrounded by devices emitting these types of pulses. Just think about the smartphones we connect to daily, computers, antennas, televisions, and other technological devices we use in our everyday lives.

Specifically, our Emigard product has been designed and developed to shield electromagnetic waves emitted by electronic devices, ensuring that both the vehicle and the transmitted data remain safe.

In Which Fields Can a Product Like Emigard Be Used?

At Isoclima, we designed Emigard with specific industries in mind, each with its own unique needs, such as the naval, aerospace, military, and architectural sectors. In addition, there are other areas where high-level protection of data and people’s health is required.

Protection from electromagnetic waves is potentially necessary in many aspects of everyday life. Even within the home, adopting this kind of protection is important, especially for more vulnerable groups like children and the elderly.

Do You Think a Glass That Protects from Something Automatically Becomes Less Aesthetic?

The perfect transparency of our products is a quality we never compromise on. Emigard is a valuable product, both for the safety of people and for the clarity of the glass itself.

The Manufacturing Process of Emigard

Just like ballistic-resistant glass, the glass designed to provide protection from electromagnetic waves must undergo a specific manufacturing process. Emigard is a laminated glass, offering ballistic or shatterproof protection depending on the requirements, and it features a unique and ingenious shielding system. This system can consist of a metal mesh or a transparent, conductive nanometric coating, or a combination of both elements, processed and combined together.

The nanometric coating is responsible for the high transparency of Emigard while still ensuring protection from electromagnetic waves through efficient electromagnetic shielding. Regardless of the data being transmitted, Emigard protects it and ensures the safety of people, preventing radiation from penetrating the body. This is a product that, due to its advanced technology and performance, we could only certify according to the strictest and most demanding quality standards.

Quality is often an overused word—its meaning varies greatly depending on the industry and the product or service being offered.

For us, complying with regulations in the shatterproof glass sector is just one more element that enhances the overall quality of our products.

From the very beginning, we have always aimed for excellence, driven by the desire to satisfy our customers both in terms of product quality and the consultancy we provide.

How do we achieve this? What sets us apart from the competition? In this article, we will explore how our glass solutions meet even the most demanding requirements.

Training, but also passion

Shatterproof glass regulations do not simply require precise execution of a production protocol; they also include a series of additional steps that a company may choose to adopt or not. One of these is training, which falls into the category of discretionary measures that businesses determine based on their own priorities.

For us, training is essential to maintaining quality.

We carefully monitor raw materials, oversee the functioning of our production systems, and assess workflow efficiency. All of this is carried out by highly qualified personnel who undergo specialized training courses.

Additionally, every installed product is “tracked” even after delivery, with follow-up inquiries made to those involved in the project. This ongoing feedback helps us identify areas for further improvement.

Our internal quality control standards

Beyond regulatory compliance for shatterproof glass, one of our core strengths lies not only in production but also in defect analysis.

By learning from errors, we continuously refine our processes and collaborate with our team to enhance performance.

Furthermore, each of our products is created within a strictly controlled supply chain. Every item is assigned a Rote Card, which allows us to reconstruct the entire production process, providing detailed insights into the raw materials used and the personnel involved in its fabrication. This comprehensive monitoring system helps us reduce production waste while ensuring full compliance with required specifications.

How do we develop our products? Our DFMEA and PIFMEA studies serve as the foundation for identifying critical issues and thoroughly analyzing all relevant factors—both regarding the glass itself and the manufacturing process—ensuring a safe and validated production outcome.

The need is to protect law enforcement and vehicles from vandalism attacks that may lead, through the breaking of windows, to the penetration of foreign objects inside.

Impact resistance, reliability, optical and technical quality. These are the main characteristics of shatterproof glass, reinforced products designed to be more compact and structured. The thickness of shatterproof glass is one of the key features of this product, which is created through a lamination process that reinforces and “solidifies” it by bonding multiple sheets together. Quality and innovation are then the characteristics of our shatterproof glass, obtained through production processes in which the finished product has a superior value and is guaranteed by our systems and technologies.

Omnigard, the shatterproof glass par excellence

Omnigard is one of Isoclima’s most well-known products, a flagship of our production. It is not only the reduced thickness of Isoclima’s shatterproof glass that makes it so special and unique: Omnigard is obtained from products compatible with the originals and transformed into shatterproof, which are then tested, validated, and certified just like first-impact glass. Certification is another strong point of this product, as it demonstrates the innovation present in it. Destined for the automotive sector, Omnigard is in fact adopted by the major automotive manufacturers in the world for its incredible reliability and resistance. They are products perfectly interchangeable with the original transparencies and also mounted directly in line. In this way, we achieve shatter resistance, and the certainty of a product never before seen on the market.

Installation and verification testing of our shatterproof glass

For the thickness of shatterproof glass, we rely on specific plastic materials for impact resistance. The addition of materials maintains the reduced thickness of the glass, which remains thin and lightweight.

This allows us to make further progress: the installation of the glass on the vehicle’s original structure, without any modifications. The door and various door sliding systems remain exactly as designed by the automotive designers, because it’s important that technique also marries aesthetics. Do you know what one of the tests on our products consists of? In our laboratories, we subject the glass to an impact with a steel ball weighing 4.11 kg.

How does this test work?

The EN 356 standard “Security glass – Testing and classification of resistance to manual attack” is responsible for defining the test methods to classify glass based on their anti-burglary properties (in simple terms, it tests their resistance).

The ball test involves a sample of 1100 mm x 900 mm placed horizontally to withstand impacts from the 4.11 kg steel ball. Depending on the glass class, the number of impacts is determined.

Impact resistance is based on a very simple criterion: if the ball does not penetrate the sample within 5 seconds of the impact, the glass can be considered perfectly safe.

In light of such innovative and accurate tests, it is no surprise that Omnigard is the glass chosen for the vehicles of the most decorated police forces in the world, and for its incredible ability to resist impacts during events such as riots or disturbances, where the safety of officers is of paramount importance

Extreme geometries, 3D curvatures, and image precision. Talking about our laminated spherical glass means understanding the basics of geometry and applying them to a product that truly challenges the laws of calculation and form.

The glass we’re discussing today is one of the finest works we’ve created in the heart of our Saletto plant, specifically designed for yachts. The 3D Spherical Glass is not just any product; it is one of the most prestigious and exclusive types of glass available on the market, created by Isoclima Group. Want to know more? Immerse yourself in this brief story where we explain how we developed and created laminated spherical glass, a product of high engineering and aesthetics designed for the naval sector.

Innovation is at Our Core

Those who turn to Isoclima Group are individuals with clear and precise ideas, which need to be translated into high-end, top-quality products. Meeting every client’s request is a duty, while exceeding expectations is a pleasure. At our state-of-the-art facilities, we have created a laminated spherical glazing system for yachts and mega yachts with the following features:

• Chemically tempered glass
• Large dimensions: A2729 x L1460
• 3D multi-radius curvature with a cross-section of an average 3800mm and a vertical section of 1004mm
• Accurate geometry control
• Optical control with significant image distortion reduction

The 3D curvatures are achieved through multiple layers of laminated glass with minimal tolerance deviations between sheets. This work, already at the forefront of technical innovation for the marine world, also involves eliminating delaminations caused by the complex geometry, making it an extremely advanced and futuristic product that has no adhesion issues.

Behind these innovations in the naval sector, such as laminated spherical glass, are the brilliant minds of Isoclima’s technical department—professionals who are able to translate the desires of yacht owners into unmatched products in terms of quality, technique, and crew safety. How do we make all this possible? Thanks to continuous idea and vision exchange with the client, from the development phase to installation at shipyards. Technically, this is called co-engineering, but we simply call it the “Isoclima approach.”

But That’s Not All

In Saletto, we’re testing something truly groundbreaking: a chemical tempering system for glass up to 10 meters, added to our existing 10-meter curvature system. We are developing and testing this, and we already know that it will be a decisive step toward even more advanced and innovative manufacturing processes.

Excellence in Service to Nature

Many might think that an advanced production process like ours—whether for laminated spherical glass, the naval sector, or all of Isoclima’s products—could be highly polluting and harmful to the ecosystem. On the contrary, our manufacturing processes not only have environmental certifications for the protection of the planet but are also carried out in production facilities that hold the most important European and international certifications. We adhere to high-quality standards with great care and pleasure. That’s right, pleasure: respecting nature and investing significant financial resources to do so is something we are happy to do. It’s an obligation to the planet, and our clients are the first to care about this aspect. We don’t want to disappoint their expectations, which is why even with complex technological products, we never forget one important value: respect for nature. And perhaps, if we think about it, in the laminated spherical glass, we’ve followed the sinuous shapes of certain landscapes and natural elements, because what one sees through our glass always offers a beauty that remains a constant source of inspiration.

Have you ever looked at the sea, gazed at the horizon, and felt a profound sense of infinity? The idea of vastness that the sea gives us is unique, and few things in the world convey the same emotions. The relationship we at Isoclima Group have with the marine world is also unique, offering innovative, cutting-edge, creative, sophisticated, incredible, and stunning naval solutions. 

Our love for the yachting sector is just like the sea: infinite. And here, we want to share with you a story of passion and courage, accompanied by a touch of entrepreneurial vision. Because, yes, in our work, both metaphorical and real sight are our greatest allies, the ones that allow us to take bigger, more fabulous steps. 

Heart, Mind, and Vision

If we had to define the factors that have made us absolute leaders in the marine sector, we wouldn’t hesitate: passion, linked to the heart we put into every process; mind, because it’s thanks to the sharp insight of Isoclima’s founders that we got here; vision, because we have never set limits for ourselves. We’ve always set lines and goals, of course, but only to surpass them and do much more. Those who know us understand: we manage to design boats at the limits of what’s possible, which means we make the impossible possible. One of our strengths is offering turnkey solutions, with an approach that embraces the craftsmanship of Made in Italy. 

Each of our projects is a fusion, a forge of ideas: we work closely with designers and architects because creativity and technique go hand in hand. They envision it, and we make it possible. 

We Raise the Anchor, Let’s Set Sail: Here Are Our Strengths

State-of-the-art systems, top-tier management, incredible products. Taking care of the naval sector as we do is certainly no easy feat. Managing serial yacht projects, mega yachts, and giga yachts and becoming a leader in this field means strongly believing in what you do and constantly perfecting it. Our work knows no boundaries, and we are present in the largest mega yacht shipyards in the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy. At Isoclima Group, if there’s one thing we’re really good at, it’s exceeding expectations. The production and extreme curvature of our products are absolutely incredible, as are the complex geometries and optical performance. All this is possible thanks to our production facilities, which in terms of quality and capacity are unmatched elsewhere. A prime example? Our bending furnace, which allows us to work with glass sheets up to 10 meters in length with very extreme and complex curvature radii. This has allowed us at Isoclima to become excellent in the glass industry. 

Glass that sparkles, shines, makes the vessel more beautiful and impactful, with excellent quality and transparency.