composite / Panelised / Metal Composite Panel
Metal Composite Panel (Aluminium, Zinc, Copper, Stainless) (3mm, 4mm, 6mm panel; 0.3mm, 0.5mm skin)
Lightweight, stiff aluminium composite facade panels with mineral-filled cores, suitable for rainscreen cladding and architectural features.
Atlas code
COM-PNL-MET-001
At-a-glance signals
Lightweight, stiff aluminium composite facade panels with mineral-filled cores, suitable for rainscreen cladding and architectural features.
Overview
Executive summary
Aluminium composite panels (ACP) consist of two thin aluminium cover sheets bonded to a mineral-filled core. They offer high stiffness at low weight, good formability, and durable coil-coated finishes for facade cladding.
Best when…
- Excellent flatness and dimensional stability
- Lightweight (5.5-15 kg/m²)
- Wide colour range (50+ standard colours)
- Weather resistant with appropriate coatings
- 100% recyclable metal skins
- Easy fabrication and installation
- Fire-resistant options available (mineral core)
- 25+ year warranty available
Top advantages
- 01 Excellent flatness and dimensional stability
- 02 Lightweight (5.5-15 kg/m²)
- 03 Wide colour range (50+ standard colours)
- 04 Weather resistant with appropriate coatings
- 05 100% recyclable metal skins
Top limitations
- 01 Fire performance varies significantly by core type
- 02 Potential delamination if poorly manufactured
- 03 Limited BAL rating data for non-aluminium variants
- 04 High cost for copper and stainless options ($250-500/m²)
- 05 Requires specialist installation for warranty
Technical
Physical ·9
- Density
- 1900-2000 kg/m3 Derived from 3-4 mm panel weight (5.9-7.6 kg/m2).
- Specific gravity
- 1.55
- Porosity
- 0.5 %
- Water absorption
- 0.5 %
- Hardness
- 40
- UV resistance
- Excellent // PVDF coating 1000+ hours
- Chemical resistance
- Good // pH 3-11 with PVDF
- pH tolerance
- 3-11
- Surface roughness
- 1.5 µm
Mechanical ·6
- Tensile strength
- 58 MPa
- Flexural strength
- 120 MPa
- Shear strength
- 24 MPa
- Poisson's ratio
- 0.33
- Impact resistance
- Class 3 // AS/NZS 4284
- Creep resistance
- Stable // Under thermal cycling
Sustainability & Health
Embodied carbon & energy ·6
- Embodied carbon
- 11.5
- Carbon footprint
- 8.5
- Embodied energy
- 180 MJ/kg
- Recycled content
- 30 %
- Renewable content
- 0 %
- Circular score
- 8
Compliance & Fire
Fire performance ·5
- Combustibility class
- Category B-C // Depends on core
- Fire resistance level
- Non-combustible (steel facings)
- Flame spread index
- 0
- Smoke dev. index
- 100
- Heat release rate
- 50
Cost & Lifecycle
Capex & lead time ·6
- Material cost (range)
- 45-500 // $/m² - Aluminium to copper
- Material cost (per unit)
- 150
- Lead time
- 1-16 weeks // Stock to special order
- Lifecycle cost
- 250
- Annual maintenance
- 2
- Market availability
- High // Aluminium readily available
Service life & durability ·3
- Expected lifespan
- 30
- Maintenance interval
- 12
- Warranty period
- 20
Layer D
Where it's used
External facades and cladding systems
Signage and architectural features
Soffits and canopies
Internal feature walls
Column covers and beam cladding
Transport infrastructure
Marine and coastal buildings (stainless steel)
Healthcare facilities (copper - antimicrobial)