Far from simply being a see-through flat sheet, these days glass is often shaped and ‘value-added’ to suit many applications.

You would know glass can be produced to block or reduce heat, glare or noise (or a combination of all three). It can be tinted, it can be one-way, it can be patterned. But these days, thanks to the humble PC, glass can be so much more.

The Convention Centre at Darling Habour, Sydney has DMS Enviroshield laminated glass in the large picture windows. This product was chosen for its excellent heat control properties and high light transmission.

Much of the glass enhancement would be infinitely more labor-intensive, expensive and complex – in fact, may not even be possible to produce – without computers.

Here we look at a major glass supplier’s use of computers to help manufacture some unique products.

DMS Glass in Melbourne is one of the largest glass enhancement manufacturers, producing products that we often see but usually don’t appreciate the technology employed to make it. Like not being able to see the wood for the trees, glass is traditionally something you look through, not at.

DMS Glass’s vast plant has made glass for sites like the Olympic Games facilities at Homebush, Hong Kong Airport, Crown Casino, Rialto tower, Melbourne Entertainment Centre, Melbourne Museum and Flemington Racecourse, to name a few.

Just some of the products they make include laminated (toughened) glass, ballistic (bullet-resistant) glass and Digiglass, a laminated, printed glass invented in Australia.