In terms of home improvement building materials,Aluminum Plates are the most widely used metal ceilings. This is still inseparable from its advantages, but even if the aluminum plate has advantages, some of its disadvantages are exposed. The aluminum plate is the most common type of metal ceiling. It is a new type of home improvement ceiling material that appeared in the 1990s. It is mainly used for ceiling projects in kitchens and bathrooms. Since the whole project of aluminum plate is made of all-metal, it is superior to PVC material and plastic-steel material in terms of service life and embracing ability. At present, the aluminum plate has become one of the indispensable materials in the entire home improvement project. People often liken the aluminum plate to the ‘kitchen and bathroom hat‘ because it has better protection performance and a beautifying decoration effect on the kitchen and bathroom! At present, the aluminum plate industry has been fully popularized in major and medium-sized cities across the country and has matured and is comprehensive.
1. Classification of Home Improvement Aluminum Plate
According to the shape classification in China, it is mainly divided into: right-angle aluminum plates and bevel-angle aluminium plates. (Because the bevel is not conducive to the later scrubbing work, it is widely used in the market: right angle, but there is not much difference in price between right angle and bevel.)
Home improvement aluminum plates are mainly classified into 3 categories according to the surface treatment process in China: sprayed aluminum plates, roller-coated aluminum plates, and film-coated aluminum plates. (The service life of the three major types of aluminum plates gradually increases and the performance increases.) Among the aluminum plates for home decoration: “coated aluminium plates” can be divided into: domestic pearl-coated aluminum plates, imported pearl-coated aluminum plates, LG coated aluminum plates according to the source of the surface film. Pearlescent coated aluminium plate (the service life and performance of the coated aluminum plate will gradually increase in the following order)
- The normal service life of the sprayed aluminum plate should be: 5-10 years;
- The normal service life of the roll-coated aluminium plate should be: 7-15 years;
- The normal service life of the coated aluminum plate should be: 10-30 years.
2. Advantages of Aluminum Plates for Home Improvement and Construction
Due to the many types of aluminum plates, smooth lines, rich colors, good appearance, and more features such as fire prevention, moisture resistance, easy installation, and easy cleaning, designers and customers can choose the ceiling according to the color of the furniture and the color of the floor. The welcome of the natives has now been recognized by the world. It has been a long time since the development of ceilings from gypsum board, mineral wool board, PVC and aluminum board. In the early days of the aluminium plate, there was only a spray plate, and later it was developed to roll coating and then to lamination. (The lamination is mostly used for home improvement.) Now, this type of lamination on the market is PVC film. In Japan, PET film is now produced, which is more environmentally friendly. From this point of view, the prospect of aluminium plates is in line with the trend of future development.
3. Material and Price of Aluminum Plates
The aluminum materials used for the ceiling are all aluminum alloys, and it is impossible to have pure aluminum. However, due to the difference in alloy content, the mechanical properties of aluminum alloys are different. At present, the aluminum alloys used in domestic ceiling materials are roughly divided into five grades:
- The first grade: Aluminum-magnesium alloy, which also contains part of manganese. The biggest advantage of this material is that it has good oxidation resistance. At the same time, it has a particular strength and rigidity because of the content of manganese. It is the most ideal material for smallpox. The performance of aluminum processing in the Southwest Aluminium Plant in China is the most stable.
- The second grade: Aluminum-manganese alloy, the strength, and stiffness of this material are slightly better than that of aluminum-magnesium alloy. However, the oxidation resistance is slightly lower than that of aluminum-magnesium alloys. If both sides are protected, it basically solves the disadvantage that its anti-oxidation ability is not as good as that of aluminium-magnesium alloy.
- The third grade: Aluminum alloy, which has less manganese and magnesium content. Therefore, its strength and stiffness are significantly lower than those of aluminum-magnesium alloys and aluminum-manganese alloys. Because it is soft and easy to process, as long as it reaches a certain thickness, it can basically meet the most basic flatness requirements of the ceiling. However, its oxidation resistance is obviously inferior to that of aluminum-magnesium alloys and aluminum-manganese alloys. Moreover, it is easy to deform during processing, transportation, and installation.
- The fourth grade: Ordinary aluminum alloy, the mechanical properties of this material are not stable.
- The fifth grade: The raw material of this kind of plate is that the aluminum processing factory melts the aluminum ingot into an aluminum plate, and does not control the chemical composition at all. Due to the uncontrolled chemical composition, the properties of these materials are extremely unstable, resulting in severely uneven product surfaces, product deformation, and high susceptibility to oxidation.
4. Conclusion
From the above grades of raw materials, it is not difficult for us to analyze the quality assurance of each type of ceiling after molding. Nowadays, many people consider that the thicker the plate, the better. It can be known through the analysis of the above-mentioned raw materials. If it is the same raw material, the thicker the plate, the better, but if it is the fifth-grade plate, no matter how thick it is. In addition, in terms of surface treatment, the raw materials of some manufacturers do not reach a certain thickness, but in order to pursue the concept of thickness, an extra layer of paint is sprayed during surface treatment. Ordinary consumers do not have a good understanding of the material of the original plate when purchasing aluminum plates. The easiest way to feel the strength and hardness of the aluminium plate is by hand.
