When it comes to the Centria FormaBond™ composite wall panel system, beauty is more than skin deep. In addition to an excellent surface appearance, the custom core of Bayer Polymers LLC’s Baydur RIM (reaction injection molding) polymer-forming system and a unique one-step manufacturing/fabricating process combine to set FormaBond apart in the metal architectural cladding market.
The FormaBond composite wall panel system is entered in the Building & Construction Category of the New Product Design Competition at Structural Plastics 2004, the 32nd Annual Conference of the Society of the Plastics Industry’s Structural Plastics Division, held March 21-23, 2004, in Charlotte, N.C.FormaBond, which was named Architectural Record’s 'Product of the Month' for September 2003, is the result of a cooperative development effort. This involved Centria, a supplier of architectural metal wall and roofing systems for commercial and industrial projects, polyurethane material supplier Bayer Polymers, and molding equipment manufacturer Krauss Maffei, according to Rick Mowrey, director-marketing and business development for Centria. 'Bayer worked in conjunction with Krauss Maffei to develop a new panel system that filled a market need,' explained Mowrey. 'That need was for a 5-foot-by-15-foot dead flat aluminum panel with high bond strength.' Bayer technicians developed a proprietary thermoset core that: Provided excellent bond strength to the 0.032-inch aluminum face and liner;
Met fire code requirements for low- and high-rise buildings; and,
Could fill the 5-foot-by-15-foot panel – one of the biggest parts formed with the RIM technique. In addition to filling an industry need for 5-foot-by-15-foot panels, FormaBond also fills a need for custom-size panels. This application’s unique tooling enables Centria to adjust panel length in 0.125-inch increments (from 15 feet down to approximately 5 feet), as well as panel width, enabling Centria to mold FormaBond in any custom size. In the one-step fabrication process, raw material is molded into lightweight, extremely strong 8-millimeter-thick finished panels, complete with integral patent-pending panel joinery and stiffeners, ready to install – eliminating costs for fabricating and attaching extrusions typical to other systems. 'This new one-piece system eliminates additional shipping and fabricating costs – as well as the time delays – that are associated with traditional aluminum composite material, where fabrication represents an additional manufacturing step,' said Mowrey. And while FormaBond panels’ beauty is more than skin deep, Mowrey points out that aesthetics remain a top priority. 'FormaBond offers unmatched design flexibility and is available in any custom size or shape, including crisp folds, smooth curves and sharp corners,' said Mowrey. |
