When you think about safety and security around your home, office or car, do you think about windows? Here’s why you should: Windows are the “Achilles Heel” of a building or vehicle. They offer an easy point of entrance for thieves and allow outsiders to see who’s inside a building (and where they are). They can also cause major damage to people and property in the event of an accident or a natural disaster, for example storms, floods, earthquakes, cyclones and the like, which can cause glass to break or shatter.
Security and safety films mitigate the risk of damage from broken glass by reducing the weakness of windows. They also create an anti-shatter or anti fragmentation effect which prevents the shattering of glass in the case of an accident, and will delay or prevent a thief from forcing entry into your car, home or building by smashing windows. Window film between 100 µm to 400 µm or greater, when anchored properly, can even provide protection in the event of an explosion, (see the video examples below) or from high velocity projectiles. The safety film prevents the ejection of spall (small dagger-like shards of glass), stopping it from shattering, becoming airborne and causing injury because the shattered glass remains largely intact. In security situations, these properties can even encourage criminals to stop trying to break and enter because their initial attempts to smash your windows fail, so they move on, looking for a softer target.
Check out the two videos below which clearly demonstrate the incredible safety properties of heavy duty anti shatter window film. In the first video the window has no safety film, and in the second safety film is in place. The same characteristics protect against forced entry into a car, home or office by smashing windows. They also demonstrates how safety and security film prevent broken glass injuring someone in a high speed accident, and how they can be installed to form a clear protective barrier for people operating machinery in industrial applications.