The Most Common Uses of Foam Glazing Pads

The shipping of glass merchandise confounds many logistically-minded department heads. Glass windows, for instance, are manufactured for contemporary office complexes as huge panels, and hundreds of these panels have to be shipped in order to complete the honeycombed front of just one of these skyscraping buildings. Commonly available in the sand beneath our feet, this transparent solid would seem to be inexpensive but is actually a high-priced commodity due to its tempered materials, the addition of tinting, and an incorporated insulating factor. Basically, glass sheets need to be shipped, but they’re far too valuable to risk transporting via a substandard shipping practice. This is why foam glazing pads save the day by interposing their dense forms between each layer of glass.

The pads act as a highly effective buffer. Common uses are as a shock-absorbing sandwiching layer when shipping large panes of glass. In the aforementioned glazing example, you’d, perhaps, lose several panels to the brunt of a poorly packed freight box, but the pads separate the panels and minimize shock events, so as to preserve the structural integrity of every layer. Additionally, the foam glazing pads exhibit minimal tackiness, which means the stock is held in its intended alignment state, but, and this is a powerful feature, the pads can be quickly removed during the unpacking phase without leaving a sticky residue. In the past, such sticky assistants have left a slight residue, and it takes time to clean this glutinous deposit, time that impacts the productivity of the glazing installation work.

Other applications for foam glazing pads take their cue from glass. A finely finished set of spray-painted car parts, each nested next to its identical cousin, benefits instantly from the intelligent insertion of interposing pads, and, again, the low tackiness factor protects the smooth veneer of the spray paint finish from sticky residue. Also, a two-sided manufacturing process focuses on the primary surface, the spray finish or a carefully applied veneer, but the opposite side could well be unfinished, in which case scratches would result as the refined surface rubs against the raw edges of the opposing surface on a neighbouring product. But, thanks to these purpose-driven shipping pads, this possibility is entirely eliminated.

The original function of a low tack pad goes back to the multitudinous array of glass windows used in homes, apartment complexes, office high rises, and commercial structures, but the vibration-attenuating product also protects glass and delicate surface finishes, especially when used as a storage reinforcement aid or a vibration reducer during the separation and installation of delicately finished surfaces.