Gorilla Glass... 50 years of fail?

[Acanthus]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/1962-glass-could-be-Cornings-apf-978849301.html?x=0

I'm reading this article and thinking about how Corning must have literally failed to market this material entirely.

In the 50s this could've been used for prisons, zoos, windows and windshields, tv screens, ultra thin glass tables, etc...

10 seconds of thinking gives you 10 uses... How did they fail to market the product for so long?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Transparent aluminum, Scotty's been at it again.

 

[mshan]

Interesting article.

 

[keird]

They should have named it Spider Monkey. That would have been funny in auto accidents.

 

[Born2bwire]

It sounds like it was cost. Even today after having almost fifty years to think how to streamline manufacturing (and it seems they have given their estimates on paying off the startup costs) they say it will add $30-$60 to the cost of a TV. That's a lot of money when you consider the cost of other components that typically make up a product. Besides, it isn't like there weren't suitable products on the market for those uses. It seems that the Gorilla glass has the advantage of being very thin. I doubt one really cares about the thickness of the glass in a prison or windshield too much as long as the performance is similar and the costs are lower.

 

[Vette73]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/1962-glass-could-be-Cornings-apf-978849301.html?x=0

I'm reading this article and thinking about how Corning must have literally failed to market this material entirely.

In the 50s this could've been used for prisons, zoos, windows and windshields, tv screens, ultra thin glass tables, etc...

10 seconds of thinking gives you 10 uses... How did they fail to market the product for so long?

Cost.

We can use aluminum in car frames and other parts. Lighter so you get better gas milage and performance. Then the body could be fiberglass (ala corvette) or carbon fiber, again lighter. Yet we still use steel.

Just because something is better (think Beta vs VHS) does not mean its the best item for the overall job.
And from what little I have read it seems most items this is geared toward are very small.

 

[Acanthus]

It sounds like it was cost. Even today after having almost fifty years to think how to streamline manufacturing (and it seems they have given their estimates on paying off the startup costs) they say it will add $30-$60 to the cost of a TV. That's a lot of money when you consider the cost of other components that typically make up a product. Besides, it isn't like there weren't suitable products on the market for those uses. It seems that the Gorilla glass has the advantage of being very thin. I doubt one really cares about the thickness of the glass in a prison or windshield too much as long as the performance is similar and the costs are lower.

$30-60 with a healthy markup i'm sure.

The article implies it was ready for mass production back then... (home) Windows of the same size cost that much anyway with tempered glass... I'm just thinking in terms of sq ft.

 

[Anubis]

There were other things besides cost that kept it out of cars IIRC, our internal article 6 months ago went into more detail about it

 

[PottedMeat]

Since the Civil War, Corning has turned out a glittering array of innovations from railroad signals to Pyrex and auto-pollution filters to optical fiber. Allotting 10 percent of revenue to research keeps promising projects brewing at its Sullivan Park research hub on Corning's hilly outskirts

Isn't 10 percent -> research not that much?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Isn't 10 percent -> research not that much?

About 9 times more than most other manufacturers spend.

 

[Homerboy]

Isn't 10 percent -> research not that much?

10% of TOTAL revenue though.
That's quite a bit.

 

[Acanthus]

Isn't 10 percent -> research not that much?

10 percent of revenue is pretty huge.

10 percent of profit is an order of magnitude smaller in a lot of cases.

 

[bonkers325]

fail? hardly... they engineered something that was ahead of its time. there wasn't really a commercial use for it until OTHER technologies were advanced enough that form factor would become a selling point.

 

[DrPizza]

Anubis, is this the same stuff or similar process as "unbreakable" glass? i.e. tempering in a liquid bath of potassium so that potassium ions switch places with the sodium ions in the glass, resulting in the surface of the glass being under compression upon cooling? Pretty cool stuff.

For anyone else - you can buy glasses made of glass that if you drop them on the floor, they bounce, not break. I've been considering buying a set, as I've grown tired of throwing out all of my glasses every few years and replacing them with a new set once a few of them have broken. (I prefer my glasses match each other.)

 

[Vette73]

Even if this does take off the patent should be dead. So once the process gets out it should be easy to make and see it coming from China in no time.

 

[DrPizza]

re: 50 years of fail.

I don't think so. Corning has a lot of different types of glass that were "invented" that they're just sitting on, waiting for the best time to market them. Every once in a while, I wonder what would be different if before my junior year in college, I had gone with my other choice - to spend a semester abroad & finish up a concentration in glass engineering. Instead, I had a summer internship with a tile manufacturer in the engineering division, and grew to find engineering incredibly boring.

 

[Anubis]

Anubis, is this the same stuff or similar process as "unbreakable" glass? i.e. tempering in a liquid bath of potassium so that potassium ions switch places with the sodium ions in the glass, resulting in the surface of the glass being under compression upon cooling? Pretty cool stuff.

i have no idea I haven't worked with the glass division

 

[AnonymouseUser]

haha, that is fucking awesome!

I actually never heard of a gorilla glass before, but now I know what it is and now I know what the new MMG is haha.

Also, very well written!

 

[OutHouse]

Frameless flat-screens that could be mistaken for chic glass artwork on a living-room wall.

that would be cool!

 

[Juddog]

OLED + Gorilla Glass would make an awesome combo for flatscreens.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Even if this does take off the patent should be dead. So once the process gets out it should be easy to make and see it coming from China in no time.

Since when do patents stop the Chinese from copying something?

 

[iGas]

Gorilla glass production ramped up for touch-screens, TVs

Gorilla glass isn't as strong as you think they are

 

[Ika]

Even if this does take off the patent should be dead. So once the process gets out it should be easy to make and see it coming from China in no time.

correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see the Chinese copying Pyrex...

 

[Anubis]

Gorilla glass production ramped up for touch-screens, TVs

Gorilla glass isn't as strong as you think they are

your first link isnt working for me

 

[iGas]

your first link isnt working for me

Both links work for me in Chrome, Firefox, and Opera under Mint Linux 8/XFCE.