Perforated aluminum panels are made of pure aluminum or aluminum alloy through pressure processing (shearing, sawing), with regular cross-section and uniform thickness. They are named after the holes on the surface, and are also called perforated aluminum plates, perforated metal plates, etc.
This new material has both noise reduction and decorative functions. With its unique structural performance, it is widely used in architectural decoration, acoustic engineering and other fields.
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① Strong durability
Perforated aluminum plates are resistant to high temperatures, corrosion, fire and moisture, and have good shock and chemical stability. They can still maintain their performance after long-term outdoor exposure. What’s more, their practicality is comparable to marble tiles.
② Excellent craftsmanship
Compared with other metal materials, perforated aluminum plates have a smooth surface without burrs. Also, they have superior visual and tactile textures, showing high-end quality.
③ Lightweight and convenient
Their base material are the lightweight aluminum plates and they are combined with perforated design to reduce deadweight. So they can optimize building load-bearing with their characteristics like simple process, easy installation and maintenance. They have both practical and economic value.
④ Green and environmentally friendly
Some perforated aluminum panels are 100% recyclable, which is an eco-friendly material and helps buildings obtain LEED certification. Besides, PVDF coated plates have strong oxidation resistance, resistance to harsh environments, and long service life.
⑤ Comprehensive functions
It can reduce the glass shading coefficient, filter sunlight, adjust room temperature, have good ventilation and light transmittance. The small apertures can also meet the needs. What’s more, it also has anti-theft functions.
⑥ Both viewing and safety
It can be opened flexibly to provide a wide field of vision, and act as a solid guardrail when closed, balancing viewing and safety needs.
⑦ Beautiful shape
The pattern is formed through a variety of perforation processes, with rich three-dimensional shapes and unique light and shadow effects. And so they are both practical and decorative.
⑧ Widely used
It is suitable for parking lot coverage, facility shielding and sign making. That enhances the visual appeal of the space and has both protection and temperature control functions.
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① Perforated aluminum panels have various types and rich classification methods:
☞ According to alloy composition: It can be divided into high-purity aluminum panel, pure aluminum panel, alloy aluminum panel, composite aluminum panel (welded panel), aluminum-clad aluminum panel, etc.
☞ According to plate thickness: It covers thin plate (0.15 – 2.0mm), conventional plate (2.0 – 6.0mm), medium plate (6.0 – 25.0mm), thick plate (25 – 200mm), five-rib pattern aluminum plate and ultra-thick plate (＞200mm). In actual application, considering the processing cost, self-weight and flatness, 1.0 – 6.0mm thick plate is often selected.
☞ According to punching technology: It includes pattern punching mesh, formed punching mesh, heavy punching mesh, ultra-thin punching mesh, micro-hole punching mesh, wire-cut punching mesh, laser punching mesh, etc.
Affected by factors such as processing cost, unit weight, unit flatness, etc., the thickness of perforated aluminum panels is usually selected from 1.0mm to 6.0mm.
☞ International general classification: It is divided into aluminum plates (thickness>0.2mm, width 200-500mm, length ≤16m), aluminum bars (thickness>0.2mm, width ≤200mm, some can reach 600mm) and aluminum foils (thickness ≤0.2mm).
② Classification of panel type
Perforated aluminum panels have a variety of panel types, including flat plate, folded plate, wavy, serrated and short-side folded plate. It should be noted that the perforation rate is negatively correlated with the strength of the plate. The higher the perforation rate, the weaker the strength. Therefore, the panel type selection not only directly determines the strength of the aluminum panel itself, but also affects the size of the perforated panel module, the number of keels configured, and even the final overall visual and structural effects.
♦ Flat plate type
The flat plate shape is the classic form of perforated aluminum panel. It is the most widely used because of its simple processing technology.
Advantages: The plate surface is flat with flexible hole arrangement. And it is easy to realize patterned design. Besides, the sense of transparency is strong, which is conducive to showing the overall beauty of the building.
Disadvantages: The sheet structure results in limited strength. When the plate size is enlarged or the porosity increases, the strength decreases significantly. It is usually necessary to thicken the plate, reduce the size of the single block, or increase the back support keel to improve the overall stability.
♦ Folded plate type
Folded on the basis of the flat plate, this design significantly improves the strength of the plate by increasing the structural thickness. With its high strength, the folded plate perforated aluminum sheet can reduce vertical divisions and joints, which greatly reduces the use of vertical keels. And so that effectively saves the cost of structural components, with both practical performance and economic benefits.
LZ’s LOVE spa / T-architects ©Minh Luu
There are two main folding methods: concave & convex and zigzag. The depth and angle of the folding can be adjusted according to the design needs. The folding surfaces at different angles can present different transparency changes at different viewing angles. The light and shadow changes are also richer, creating a multi-level translucent atmosphere.
♦ Wave type
It is formed by bending the folded plate as the base. Continuing the high strength advantage of the folded plate type, the wavy perforated aluminum sheet can create a hazy and soft translucent visual effect through the unique curved surface shape. Its flexible and undulating interface contour can better integrate with the surrounding environment, while ensuring the structural performance, giving the space a more poetic aesthetic expression.
New Munch Museum
③ Punching classification
The hole size and pattern design of perforated aluminum plate are flexible and variable. Through customized processing of hole size, distribution density and hole type (circular, square, strip, etc.), it can present differentiated translucent visual effects and meet diverse spatial transparency and aesthetic needs.
Punching mainly includes rectangular holes, square holes, diamond holes, round holes, oblong holes, hexagonal holes, cross holes, triangular holes, long waist holes, plum blossom holes, fish scale holes, pattern holes, eight-shaped nets, herringbone holes, five-pointed star holes, irregular holes, bulging holes, special-shaped holes, louver holes, etc.
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① Perforation method
Common perforation methods: CNC punch perforation, stamping process, laser perforation.
The most common perforation method is to use CNC and combination punch for large batches and repeated patterns. Water jet or laser is ideal for creating customized perforations and patterns, with a variety of hole sizes and unique shapes.
Customized perforation patterns and shapes, produced using millimeter-precision machines and other new manufacturing technologies, can also achieve an unlimited variety of folding and perforated panel designs.
② Perforation rate and aperture
☞ The perforation rate refers to the percentage of the total area of perforated holes in the entire area of the plate.
The perforation rate is the core factor affecting the perforated aluminum panel unit of the building surface. Also, it is the key to affecting its visual overall expression and reducing the energy consumption of the building.
According to current mechanical equipment, the highest perforation rate can reach about 60%, and the perforated plate size is required to be within the range of 1500*3000. If it exceeds this range, the perforation requires secondary positioning.
The higher the perforation rate of the perforated aluminum plate, the greater the impact on the flatness of the formed aluminum plate. And the inspection standard is lower than the corresponding regulations for normal aluminum plates.
☞ Aperture is one of the factors affecting the perforated aluminum panel unit. Controlling the aperture, hole spacing and arrangement of the punching can affect the visual clarity of the perforated staggered plate surface and create a novel visual effect. Combining factors such as perforation rate and plate thickness can reduce solar radiation heat and reduce energy consumption.
The most common is a 6mm aperture and a 15mm spacing.
③ Structural connection of perforated aluminum plate
☞ Connection with main structure
Because the metal perforated plate is in the form of a plate and is generally thin, its structural strength is weak. Therefore, when it is used as a building skin, its own strength is not enough to support its direct connection between the main structural connectors of the building. It is usually necessary to set a keel as a supporting member to fix the metal perforated plate, with the keel connected to the main structure. In this way, the overall construction method of “main structure-keel support system-metal perforated plate” is formed.
☞ Perforated plate connection and fixation
The connection between the perforated plate and the main structure generally adopts a discontinuous indirect connection method, which mainly includes bolt connection and riveting. The main continuous connection methods are welding and bonding.
Nowadays, discontinuous connection methods are generally used. Because the overall structure of the skin is more tough, it is convenient for future disassembly, maintenance and updating. Depending on the different metal materials, the connection method is also different.
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The price of perforated aluminum sheet is mainly affected by three factors: alloy composition, sheet thickness and hole pattern. The higher the proportion of precious metals in the alloy, the thicker the sheet thickness. And the more complex the hole shape, the higher the price. Taking the facade metal perforated aluminum sheet as an example, its process cost is usually 800-1000 yuan/square meter (Note: This is a reference range. The actual cost is affected by market fluctuations, project scale and other factors, and needs to be determined in combination with specific needs).
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The perforated aluminum sheet has a rich variety of hole types and arrangements, and has both beautiful shapes and excellent decorative effects. It can fully meet the creative needs of architects and designers and give the building a unique style.
It is not only elegant in color, but can also be used in public buildings such as hotels and cinemas and mid-to-high-end residences to optimize sound quality. Besides, it is also suitable for noise reduction in workshops, factories, civil air defense basements and other places. It is a popular product in the decoration market in recent years.
① Exterior facade curtain wall
The library of Chongqing Real Estate Vocational College combines glass curtain wall with perforated metal panel to create a distinctive facade.
The interior of the library’s large roof incorporates the concept of “starry sky”. Four patterns are designed on the perforated aluminum panel. After density changes and careful arrangement, it presents a “nebula” effect.
All aluminum plates are spliced with a standard size of 2000mm×1200mm. The inner surface of the north roof consists of four perforated aluminum panels and one solid aluminum panels, a total of five patterns.
Among them, the four perforated plates are divided into four categories, ABCD, according to the density of the opening rate. On this basis, four types of perforated aluminum panels corresponding to 180-degree rotation, A’B’C’D’, are added, and a total of nine types of aluminum plates are distributed in an orderly manner.
Real picture of entrance perforated aluminum panel application ©PH-Alpha Design
② Interior decoration
Perforated aluminum plates have become an ideal material for interior decoration due to their strong plasticity.
Take the design practice of Wutopia Lab as an example. In a renovation project of an old industrial area in Shanghai, it cleverly uses perforated aluminum plates to create a three-dimensional green landscape.
The designer uses perforated aluminum plates as “brush and ink” and uses the freehand landscape technique to organically connect the building facade, landscape, lobby, office area and roof. And that constructs a three-dimensional, coherent and complete green landscape scroll, showing the unique charm of perforated aluminum plates in shaping space art.
Shanghai Gaohe Yunfeng Office Building Interior ©CreatAR
③ Ceiling design
The perforated aluminum panel on the top of the lobby of Chongqing Longhu Chenlinjian and the tree-shaped projection design fully show the philosophy of life and the immeasurable sense of ritual in life.
④ Staircase design
The stair railings of Hangzhou Yunhe Vanke Center Innovation Experience Center are made of orange perforated aluminum panels. This bold color and strong sculptural stair system visually creates the impression of supporting a floating circular building inside. And it becomes the visual focus in the space, guiding people to walk up and down inside the building.
Atrium staircase of Hangzhou Canal Vanke Center Innovation Experience Center © Lu Yong
⑤ Balcony railing design
The balcony of the apartment below is innovatively designed with perforated aluminum panels. The panel system was fully manufactured when it was delivered to the site, and can be installed very quickly and easily. Not only is the lighting and ventilation good, but privacy and fall protection can also be guaranteed.
©Ong Chan Hao
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When selecting perforated aluminum panels for a project, you need to pay attention to the following items:
1.Determine the aperture.
The aperture is one of the factors affecting the perforated aluminum panel unit. Controlling the aperture, hole spacing and arrangement of the punched holes can affect the visual clarity of the perforated aluminum panel skin and create a novel visual effect. Combining factors such as perforation rate and panel thickness can reduce solar radiation heat and reduce energy consumption.
2.Determine the panel type.
The choice of panel type affects the strength of the perforated aluminum panel, which in turn affects the size of the perforated panel module, the number of keels that serve as connections, and the overall effect expression.
3.Select the metal alloy and panel thickness.
When using perforated aluminum panels, the metal alloy will affect the overall aesthetics of the finished panel. The thickness of the panel will depend on the location of use, and thicker panels are more suitable for environments with greater wind loads.
4.Specify the aluminum panel details.
For individual projects, it must be decided whether the perforated aluminum panel has a frame and which reinforcement ribs are required.
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