Coring Soda-Lime Glass: Soda-Lime Glass (CTE 9.0 x 10^-6 /K, 360 nm – 2.0 um); Coring to diameter +/-0.05 mm. Single-piece prototypes to production volumes, quoted from your drawing.
coring soda-lime glass is a materials problem before it is a machining problem. Soda-Lime Glass has lowest cost per square meter and a Knoop hardness of 585 kg/mm2, so the coring recipe – feeds, coolant, tooling – differs from what works on ordinary float glass. The line runs diamond core drills with rotary fixtures and holds diameter +/-0.05 mm.
Key parameters
| Material | Soda-Lime Glass (Float per ASTM C1036, low-iron option) |
|---|---|
| Thermal expansion (CTE) | 9.0 x 10^-6 /K |
| Service temperature | 350 C continuous |
| Transmission range | 360 nm – 2.0 um |
| Density | 2.50 g/cm3 |
| Knoop hardness | 585 kg/mm2 |
| Refractive index | 1.52 @ 587 nm |
| Stock thickness | 0.40 – 19 mm |
| Maximum blank size | 1,000 x 800 mm |
| Process | Coring |
| Working tolerance | diameter +/-0.05 mm |
| Minimum feature | 2 mm core diameter |
| Surface finish | ground bore, honed option |
| Thickness window | 1 – 60 mm |
| Edge condition | entry/exit chamfer standard |
| RFQ inputs | PDF/DXF/STEP drawing, quantity brackets, surface and edge spec |
Specification advice
Three items decide most of the cost and lead time on this work:
- Material note: higher CTE means edge chips propagate under thermal load, so edge finishing quality drives reliability.
- Process boundary: wall thickness between adjacent cores should exceed 2 mm to avoid bridge cracking.
- Over-specification is the quiet budget killer: a 20/10 scratch-dig face costs roughly three times an 80/50 face, so grade each surface individually.
For the complete framework, see the tolerance design guide and the holes and edges design guide.
Capabilities and limits
The core strength of Coring is large-diameter discs, rings and through-bores from plate stock up to 60 mm thick. The honest limit: wall thickness between adjacent cores should exceed 2 mm to avoid bridge cracking. Both belong on the drawing before quoting, not after.
One material, many routes: on Soda-Lime Glass we also quote laser cutting, drilling, etching, lapping, and multi-step drawings are the norm rather than the exception.
Who orders this
The recurring buyers of coring soda-lime glass: led packaging (groove covers, phosphor carriers, package windows); industrial displays (touch covers, gauge windows, printed bezels). Background reading on the underlying material science: ASTM C1036 flat glass standard.
The fastest route to a quote is geometry: use the 3D configurator below, or the site-wide custom glass machining 3D builder for fully custom parts.
Related reading on this site: glass wafer coring, microfluidic glass applications, JGS1 quartz glass.
Frequently asked questions
What tolerances are achievable on Soda-Lime Glass parts?
Ground features hold +/-0.01 mm and lapped thickness reaches +/-0.003 mm. Higher CTE means edge chips propagate under thermal load, so edge finishing quality drives reliability.
What thickness range do you stock for Soda-Lime Glass?
Standard stock spans 0.40 – 19 mm, with blanks up to 1,000 x 800 mm. Other formats are sourced per order.
How does Soda-Lime Glass behave under heat?
CTE is 9.0 x 10^-6 /K and continuous service reaches 350 C continuous, which is what drives its use where lowest cost per square meter matters.
What accuracy does coring hold?
Diameter +/-0.05 mm with minimum features of 2 mm core diameter. Wall thickness between adjacent cores should exceed 2 mm to avoid bridge cracking.
Specifications on this page were last reviewed by our engineering team in July 2026.