Aluminum Panel Cladding: Exploring the Future of Modern Architecture

When architects choose materials for building cladding, the wind resistance, earthquake resistance, and plasticity of aluminum panel cladding make them stand out. Their lightweight, oxidation resistance, and corrosion resistance make them the preferred choice in modern architectural design. Through advanced processes and simple construction methods, aluminum panel cladding provide architects with more creative space while also offering sustainable solutions for environmental consciousness.

Advantages

• Lightweight and strong rigidity. The weight of a 3.0 mm thick aluminum panel cladding is 8 kg/m², with a tensile strength of 100–280 MPa. The self-weight of aluminum panel cladding of the same size is only 1/5 of marble and 1/3 of glass building cladding, effectively reducing the building load.
• Oxidation resistance, corrosion resistance, and long service life. Aluminum panel cladding have excellent performance, including high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance, weather resistance, oxidation resistance, and UV resistance. They are not easily oxidized or corroded. Aluminum panel cladding can maintain stable performance even in harsh weather conditions.
• Strong plasticity, diverse appearance. Aluminum panel cladding have high flatness and texture, and they can be processed into various complex shapes such as flat, curved, spherical, twisted, punched, and carved.
• Cost-effective. Aluminum panel cladding have the advantage of factory forming, eliminating the need for on-site cutting. They are easy and quick to install. In addition, their economical production cost and lightweight characteristics reduce transportation, installation, and maintenance costs, further enhancing cost-effectiveness.
• Sustainability and environmental friendliness. The production of aluminum panel cladding requires low energy consumption, reducing carbon footprint.

Application

Aluminum panel cladding are widely used in building cladding due to their various finishes, colors, and textures, which provide a wider range of aesthetic possibilities and can complement different design styles.

Surface Treatment

The craftsmanship of aluminum building cladding can be divided into two methods: anodizing and PVDF coating.

Anodizing

Anodizing typically results in an oxide film of 12 μm or more. The colors are usually limited to two options: antique copper and white. This limited color range is considered one of its drawbacks. However, this limitation isn't due to production technology but rather because batches of aluminum sheets vary, and factors like electrolyte current density during anodizing cannot be precisely replicated, leading to differences in the resulting colors.

PVDF Coating

PVDF Coating can be divided into powder coating and liquid coating. The materials used in powder coating mainly include polyurethane, expandable resin, epoxy resin, and high-color retention pigments. This allows for the creation of dozens of different colors of sprayed powder.

Recommendations For Curtain Wall & Metal Roof Coating：

PVDF coatings have dominated the curtain wall and metal roofing markets because color consistency and color selection are more important than abrasion resistance. With PVDF, a specifier may choose any color he wants, and it is likely to be readily available since most applicators have the capability to mix their own coatings.