Why Toughened Glass Can Shatter
Toughened glass, while up to four times stronger than standard annealed glass, is still a type of glass—made primarily from silica—and not as durable as metal. Some customers mistakenly believe that toughened glass is unbreakable and handle it roughly during installation, which increases the risk of damage.
The main advantage of toughened glass lies in its safety performance: when it breaks, it shatters into thousands of small, blunt pieces rather than sharp shards, significantly reducing the risk of injury.
However, toughened glass can still break under certain conditions. One of the most common causes is edge damage. Chips or micro-cracks along the edges often occur during packaging, transportation, or on-site installation. These imperfections may not be visible, but they can become stress points as the glass is exposed to temperature changes, wind pressure, building movement, and other environmental factors. Over time, the accumulated stress can cause the glass to suddenly break—sometimes months or even years after the initial damage occurred—making it seem like a spontaneous failure when it was actually the result of long-term stress buildup.