Glossary

When we ask which side of your vehicle needs service, we often use the terms “driver’s side” and “passenger’s side”.  “Left” refers to the driver’s side and “Right” refers to the passenger’s side.  Left and Right are determined when you are sitting inside the vehicle looking forward and not when you are standing at the front of the vehicle.

There are many new features in today’s auto glass.  If you are looking for additional information about terminology used in the auto glass industry, scroll through the list below for explanations of the most common auto glass terms.

• Acoustic Interlayer- Glass having a thicker than normal vinyl laminate for noise reduction.
• Adhesive-  A polyurethane product designed to bond glass to painted metal that is both strong and flexible. Its strength is measured in two ways: tensile and lap shear. Typical auto glass adhesives achieve tensile strengths of 1000 psi and lap shear strengths of 500 psi.
• AGRSS- Automotive Glass Replacement Safety Standards.  Safety standards widely accepted by the industry.
• ANSI- The American National Standard Institute, which is a private, non-profit organization that coordinates a voluntary consensus standardization system.
• Anti-theft- Vehicle glass that is made of laminated glass & tempered glass sandwiched together to help prevent smash & grab theft.
• Butyl-  An adhesive / sealant that was the primary material used to bond car windshields in the 60′s and 70′s.  Achieves lap shear strengths of only about 13 psi.
• Diversity Antenna- Combines the reception from 2 or more antennas on the vehicle. They work together to achieve superior radio reception.  Usually appears as a thin brown or orange line inside the glass
• Dot Matrix Shade- The traditional gradient shade band in the laminate is replaced by a dot matrix frit across the top of the windshield.  These little black dots are painted onto one of the glass surfaces.
• Electrochromic Mirror- Also known as Auto-Dim Mirror. A rear view mirror that senses light and automatically dims.
• Encapsulated-  A glass part that has a molding attached.  Sometimes at the top only, and sometimes around three or four sides of the glass.
• Flat Glass- A piece of auto glass with no curvature.
• FMVSS-  Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, i.e: FMVSS #212 the barrier crash test, and #216 the roof crush resistance test.
• Frit- The black painted border around the perimeter of the glass.  This painted area serves two purposes. First is aesthetics, it just looks better.  Second, it blocks the sun’s rays from deteriorating the adhesive that structurally bonds the glass to the vehicle.
• Heated Wiper Park Area- Windshield contains heater grids across the lower part of the glass where the wipers rest.  Usually visible as brown or grey lines running horizontally at the base of the windshield.
• High Modulus Adhesives- High modulus is a rigidity requirement of cured adhesive.  It measures the ability of the adhesive to withstand a variety of stresses and still return to its original form. High modulus adhesives are stiffer than normal adhesives.
• HUD- Heads up display.  Some of your vehicle’s key instrumentation is flashed up onto the bottom of the windshield.  This allows drivers to check speed, etc. without having to take their eyes off of the road.
• Infrared- A term used to describe Solar Coated glass.
• Laminated-  A sandwich of two pieces of glass with a PVB layer between them.  All front windshields are made of laminated glass.  Properly installed windshields cushion an occupant’s head during impact, act as a backboard for the airbags, and provide structural roof support in an accident.
• Laser Deletion Area- a solar coated glass that has a small area without coating to allow lasers to work through the glass.
• Light Sensor- A sensor usually located on the windshield that senses the absence of light and turns the headlights on.
• Molding- This is a finishing strip used to secure a piece of glass, such as a windshield.
• Night Vision- An infrared camera mounted on the vehicle which detects objects further ahead than headlights, and displays the images on a section of the windshield.
• Nonconductive Adhesives- Standard autoglass adhesives are inherently conductive due to the presence of carbon.  Nonconductive adhesives are low in carbon and change high frequency antenna impedance. Sensitive electronic signals in some luxury cars require specialized nonconductive adhesive to maintain optimal operating levels.
• O.E.M.- Original Equipment Manufacturer
• PVB- Polyvinyl Butyral. The vinyl layer between the two pieces of glass that make up a front windshield.
• Rain Sensor- A sensor usually located near the windshield’s rear view mirror that senses rain and activates the wipers.
• Safe Drive Away Time-  Actually, it should be called “Safe Crash Time”.  The elapsed time after a front windshield installation that a vehicle would safely pass all the appropriate rollover and roof crush requirements. One hour minimum.
• Solar or Solar Absorbing-  Glass that blocks out harmful ultraviolet and infrared rays thereby reducing the sun’s damage and keeping the inside of the vehicle cooler.
• Solar Coated- During the manufacturing process, the inside surface of the outer layer of Non-Solar glass is coated with UV reflective film before the inner layer (PVB) is sandwiched between the outer and inner layers of glass.