PPG Industries (NYSE: PPG) has upgraded the “Construct” tool on PPG Glass eVIEW, a multifunctional suite of Web-based tools that enables architects, glazing contractors, glass fabricators and other building professionals to search, construct, view and compare virtual glazing configurations in three dimensions.

The new PPG Glass eVIEW Construct tool incorporates several exclusive features designed to make it the most comprehensive and easy-to-use online specification tool in the glass industry. They include:

· Access to PPG and competitor glass performance data – The upgraded PPG Glass eVIEW Construct tool enables visitors to build virtual monolithic and insulating glass units (IGUs) in multiple configurations using products and components from PPG and other glass manufacturers in the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) WINDOW 7.3 database. Input options include common coated and clear glasses as well as laminates, frits, installation angles, glass thicknesses and other design variables. 

· Password-free gateway to the industry’s largest product performance database – A seamless interface developed by PPG enables architects, designers and specifiers to build virtual IGUs using all products in the LBNL WINDOW 7.3 database, North America’s largest, most accurate and most trusted repository of glass-product performance data.

· Side-by-side comparison capability – Up to nine glazing configurations can be viewed simultaneously for color and aesthetics and for side-by-side comparison of performance data such as visible light transmittance (VLT), solar-heat-gain coefficient (SHGC), light-to-solar-gain (LSG) ratio and U-value. 

· Customized report generation – Reports can be organized, downloaded and printed according to users’ most valued performance criteria, then personalized with the name of a building project, the logo of an architectural firm or any other user-provided artwork for easy insertion into a bid package. 

Steve Marino, PPG technical support manager, flat glass, said the new and upgraded features of the PPG Glass eVIEW Construct tool are based on feedback from regular users. 

“The growing popularity of building information modeling demands that our industry continues to invest in online tools like this,” he explained. “Not only is the program agnostic in terms of product information, but visitors can use it anonymously to protect their privacy. Our primary goal is to offer architects and other glazing-industry professionals a state-of-the-art package that can become their default glass specification tool.” 

Other PPG Glass eVIEW Construct tool features include capabilities to build multi-cavity IGUs, to choose imperial or metric values, and to view comparative color-space plotting for aesthetics. To try using the tool, visit http://construct.ppg.com.