Custom Display Cover Glass Comprehensive Guide

What’s Display Cover Glass?

Cover glass, also called cover lens, is the protective outer layer of user interface used in the display systems or screen of electronic devices, portable navigation devices, medical devices, heavy duty outdoor terminals and more. Generally, it is lightweight, thin and has high optical transmittance.The primary function of display cover glass is to safeguard the underlying display from external damage while maintaining optical clarity and aesthetics. In addition to protection, display cover glass enables touch input, facilitating user interaction with devices. It also can serve to conveying brand values. And, with the popular of touch screen displays, the functions of anti-fingerprint, anti-glare, anti-reflective and anti-bacterial are also available and getting more and more common.The global cover glass market is projected to witness a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.50% during the forecast period from 2024 to 2032. Except from smart phones, more and more smart devices or display devices in various industries tend to cover glass for better performances and user experiences.

Why Choose Glass as Substrate for Your Display Products?

As we all know, there are different materials that can be used for the cover or overlays for display panels or touch screen products. The most common materials have Glass, PMMA (Acrylic), Polycarbonate (PC), Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Film, and more. But, why more and more manufacturers tend to glass cover for their products?With the development of glass processing technology, glass materials today can be lightweight, ultra-thin and with some required functions. Now, we will check advantages of using cover glass for your display products or touch panel.

• Transparency and High Transmission: The excellent transparency and exceptionally good optical properties of glass materials allow the light from the pixels behind the display to penetrate and appear on the screen, ensuring image clarity and brightness, color vibrancy and accuracy, thus providing a higher quality visual experience. Generally, the transparency rate for glass materials is more than 90% or even up to 98%.
• High Hardness and Scratch Protection: Glass is typically harder and more abrasion resistant than plastic materials. Therefore, front cover glass for display is more resistant to scratches and damage, extending the life of display products.
• Chemical Stability: Glass is less susceptible to chemicals, which makes it easier to clean and maintains its appearance over time.
• Aesthetic Appearance: Glass has a smooth, polished surface that gives display products or touch panel a more elegant, upscale appearance.
• Maintains Touch Screen Sensitivity: Display cover glass maintains the sensitivity of touch screens, ensuring that users can operate by touch without the thickness of the panel or other factors affecting touch responsiveness. (Read more about Touch Screen Cover Glass >>)
• Thin and Lightweight Design: Despite its strength and durability, cover glass is often able to maintain a relatively thin and lightweight design that does not unduly add to the weight and size of the device, in line with the user’s need for a lightweight, sleek design.

Where is Display Cover Glass Used?

Perhaps many people know that cover glass is now an indispensable part for smart phones and other electronic products, such as tablets, smartphones, all-in-one (Al0) PCs, smartwatches, and so on. But do you know where and in which industries cover glass can also be used? Here, we list some of its applications scenarios, then you will how how widely used the glass cover is.

Industrial Equipment

Cranes, Excavators, Agricultural Machinery, Outdoor Construction Vehicles, Electronic Initiators, Military Computers, Marine Electronic Controller, Industrial Meters and Instruments, etc.,

Medical Devices

Blood Pressure Monitors, Blood Glucose Monitors, Body Monitoring Devices, Endoscopes, Laryngoscopic Devices, Dental Testing Devices, Blood Analyzers, Handheld Medical Devices, Portable Medical Devices, etc.

Automotive Industry

Center Dashboard, Entertainment Display, Navigation System Screen, New Energy Charging Pile, etc.

Smart Home System

Smart Door Locks, Smart Home Appliances (Coffee Machine, Water Dispenser, Dehumidifier, etc), Smart Lighting Systems, AI Smart Home Devices, etc.

Commercial Devices

ATM, POS Consumer Terminals, Advertising Machines, Bank Signature Panels, Cash Registers, Face Recognition Devices, Electronic Payment Devices, Smart Authentication Devices, Digital Signage, Touchpad, Gasoline Dispensers, Sports Equipment,

Educational Devices:

Interactive Whiteboard, Student Tablet PCs, etc.If you are not sure whether it is suitable to design or replace cover glass for your products, just contact us and then our professional engineers will help you with it.

What are the Main Types of Glass for Display Cover Glass?

For screen or display cover glass, there are two types of glass commonly used: chemically strengthened glass and thermally tempered glass. So, what is chemical strengthened glass and thermally tempered glass? And what is their difference and advantages.

Chemically Strengthened Glass

Chemical strengthened glass is toughened by changing the chemical composition of the surface of the glass to increase the strength of the glass, usually by applying the ion exchange method. Chemically toughening makes the surface of the glass stronger than ordinary glass. Although the chemical strengthening process is time-consuming and requires high temperatures (400 degrees or more), it can increase the mechanical strength of the glass surface by a factor of 6 to 8.

Thermally Tempered Glass (Physically Strengthened Glass)

Thermally tempered glass, also called physically strengthened glass, is toughened by rapid cooling at high temperatures. It will be ordinary flat glass in the heating furnace heated to close to the softening temperature of the glass (600 ℃), through its own deformation to eliminate the internal stress, and then remove the glass out of the heating furnace, and then use the multi-head nozzle will be high-pressure cold air blowing to both sides of the glass, so that it quickly and evenly cooled to room temperature, then tempered glass is made. Thermally tempered glass is 4 to 5 times stronger than ordinary float glass. However, it is not as strong as chemically strengthened glass.

Differences between Chemically Strengthened Glass and Thermally Tempered Glas

Parameter	Chemically Strengthened Glass	Thermally Tempered Glass
Thickness	< 3.0 mm	> 3.0 mm
Processing Temperature	400℃	600~700℃
Surface CS	450~650Mpa	90~140Mpa
Strength	6~8x stronger than regular glass	4~5x stronger than regular glass
Drop Ball Test	227G steel ball dropped freely from 1.5M to the center without breaking once.	227G steel ball dropped freely from 1.5M to the center without breaking once.
Broken State (check picture below)	Flakes	Granular
Warping Degree	>0.5 mm	<0.5 mm

Chemically strengthened glass will break like normal glass, in flake form, because it does not change the internal structure of the glass. Thermally tempered glass, on the other hand, changes the internal structure of the glass and produces very small fragments when it breaks. In many cases, tempered glass is safer, especially for use in areas such as automobiles where people may be injured.Actually, in terms of bending strength, optical properties and surface roughness, chemical strengthened glass is superior to physical tempered glass.

Other Glass Classification

For display cover glass and touch screen glass panel, there are also other glass types that are classified with different standards.

• According to chemical composition, glass raw materials used for display can be divided into soda-lime glass and aluminum silicate glass.
• According to the brand, glass raw materials used for display can be categorized into Corning Gorilla Glass, AGC Dragon Tail Glass, Schott Xensation, Panda Glass and so on.

What Surface Treatment are Available for Display Cover Glass?

In order to improve the performance and reliability of display products or touch panels, cover glass is also processed with some functional surface treatments to meet different application scenarios. These surface treatments fulfill the user’s needs for clarity, comfort, and hygiene, offering better users’ experiences. Here we briefly introduce the main surface treatments or coating used in display cover glass.

AG (anti-glare) Glass

Anti-glare glass (AG glass), also known as non glare glass, is made by chemical etching or spraying to make the original glass reflective surface become matte surface and change the roughness of the glass surface, to make the surface produce a matte effect. When the external light reflects on it, it will form diffuse reflection, thus reducing the reflection of light to achieve the purpose of not blinding, so that the viewer can experience a better sensory vision.The processing technology for AG Glass has chemical etching, spraying and coating, of which chemical etching AG glass is most durable. Etched AG glass cover is an ideal choice for displays or control panels of industrial equipment.AG glass is mostly used in outdoor displays or displays under strong light, such as advertising screens, ATMs, POS cash registers, medical ultrasound displays, e-book readers, agricultural machinery, subway ticket machines and so on.

AR (Anti-reflective)

Anti-reflective glass (AR glass) is optically coated to reduce its reflectivity and increase its transmittance. The maximum value can increase its transmittance to more than 99% and control its reflectivity to less than 1%. By increasing the transmittance of the glass, the content of the display can be presented more clearly, so that the viewers can enjoy a more comfortable and clearer sensory vision.AR glass is mainly used in high-definition displays, photo frames, cameras and all kinds of instruments, front and rear windshields of automobiles, and solar photovoltaic industry.

AF (Anti-Fingerprint Glass)

Anti-fingerprint coating is based on the principle of lotus leaf, a layer of nano-chemical material is coated on the surface of the glass to make it more hydrophobic and resistant to oil, fingerprints and so on. You can easily wipe the dirt, fingerprints, oil, etc. clean. The surface is smoother and more comfortable to the touch.AF glass is suitable for display glass cover on all touch screens. AF coating is single sided and used on the front side of the glass.Please note: The surface treatment of AG, AR and AF can be achieved in one cover glass. You can choose the most suitable treatment for your products.

Anti-bacterial

Anti-bacterial surface inhibits the growth and spread of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms on the surface, reducing the risk of cross-infection, especially critical in public places or medical equipment.

How to Custom Cover Glass for Your Display Devices or Systems?

For display devices or screens, how to ensure the cover glass is suitable for the designs? In fact, with the development of glass processing technology, many designs for cover glass can be perfectly achieved. Here are some basic information for cover glass, which is necessary to know before designing your products.

Custom Shape & Cut-outs & Grooves

At present, advanced glass-cutting technology allows precise fabrication of glass into any sizes and any shapes, including large oversize, irregular shapes, and more. Cut-outs, groove, hole designs are now also available for cover glass. Now, professional cover glass manufacturers should have capability to deliver custom-cut glass shapes and they often adopt waterjet cutting, CNC cutting and drilling, laser cutting, or other.

Dimensions & Edgeworks

Just like above mentioned, the cover glass can be made in large size for specific applications, such as digital signage in public transportation. And, the edge treatment of cover glass can also be varied to meet different designs and applications. In addition to flat edge, popular edge works for display cover glass has 2.5D, bevelled, and more. (Read more: 6 Common Glass Edge Work for Display Cover Glass>>)

What is the Printing Technology for Display Cover Glass?

Printing technology makes display cover glass distinctive, adding personalization and exclusivity to the product. By printing company logos and functional icons, it enhances brand recognition and increases the brand value of the product. Now, let’s see what is main technology of display cover glass printing?

Silkscreen Printing

The most cost effective, reliable and fast painting method for display cover glass is silkscreen printing. However, due to the limits of colors, each color requires a separate screen. Therefore, cover glass manufacturers often suggest 2 to 4 colors when designing. The higher the number of colors, the higher the cost. And in some special applications, ink jet printing is also used for cover glass printing. But its cost is higher.

Anti-UV Ink & Dead Front Printing

Anti-UV ink is adopted in the silkscreen printing process to solve the problem of ink shedding of display cover glass, especially for these used in outdoor or harsh environment. And, dead front printing of display cover glass allows more possibilities of the design of display screen, making your products sleek and stylish appearance.

What is the Cost of Custom Display Cover Glass Panel?

In fact, the cost of a custom display cover glass is decided by many factors, including glass material types or brands, size and thickness, edgeworks, surface treatments, printing requirements, quantity, and more. It is really hard to offer a exact number about how much a cover glass is. But, it is certain that the more complex the processing process of the display cover glass, the larger the size, the better the material used, and the more expensive the price. For example, Gorilla glass cover is expensive than that made of other glass material.Therefore, the higher requirements, the higher cost is. If you are interested in knowing how much it will cost of your design of a cover glass, just contact us anytime!

How to Choose a Reliable Display Cover Glass Manufacturer?

Choosing a reliable display cover glass manufacturer is greatly important for stable quality of your display products, timely delivery for your projects. At the same time, a professional cover glass manufacturer can help you find a optimal design for your products with lower cost. Here are some tips you can check with your suppliers.

• Check Glass Processing Factory Environment and Equipment
• Project Cases of Different Applications
• Custom Services and Timely Communications

What Are Viable Alternatives of Glass for Glass for Displays/Touchscreen?

As we mentioned above, in addition to glass, there are several options for cover of displays, including acrylic (PMMA), Polycarbonate (PC), Polyester (PET), Vinyl and more. Certainly, the selection of cover materials should take the actual application requirements into consideration.

PMMA (Polymethyl Methacrylate)

PMMA, also known as acrylic, can be a good alternative to glass. PMMA cover is much lighter than glass and not easy to break. However, PMMA can be easily scratched and cracked, so it is not so durable for a long time. Additionally, PMMA has a lower melting point than glass and may deform at high temperatures.

PC (Polycarbonate)

PC is featured with high impact resistance, lightweight, good toughness. And it can withstand extreme temperatures, ranging from -30 to 90°C during use. In the market, Polycarbonate is widely used as graphic overlays of membrane switch panels. However, it may scratch more easily than glass.

PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate)

PET can be a safer alternative to glass in some application scenarios due to its shatter resistance. It also has a good optical clarity, and it is lightweight and ultra-thin. However, like other plastic materials, PET is not as scratch-resistant as glass.