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Sandwich Panels
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What is a sandwich panel, and which one goes on which building?
A sandwich panel is an envelope element with an insulation core pressed between two metal sheets. Core, profile and thickness are three separate decisions, made according to what the building is.
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Sandwich Panels
TRIPAN panel: a roof envelope with a laminated PVC membrane
In a TRIPAN panel the PVC membrane is laminated to galvanised steel at 220 degrees Celsius on a separate line. The membrane is not a layer stuck on afterwards; it becomes one layer with the steel.
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Sandwich Panels
The solar compatible roof panel and the job of the five-rib profile
On a roof carrying a solar plant the panel does two jobs: it is the envelope and it carries the modules. The five-rib profile is what makes the second job possible; the rib height is 37 mm.
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Sector
Wherever the steel comes from, four things to check
Where the steel comes from changes the lead time and the continuity of supply; its performance is set by four figures. Steel thickness, coating class, colour and traceability.
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Sandwich Panels
What does the TRIPAN roof panel change on a low-pitch roof?
TRIPAN is a five-rib roof panel with a PVC laminated outer sheet. Rib height 37 mm, panel length up to 15.5 metres; in practice it removes the need for a concealed gutter.
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Sector
What does innovation actually look like in the panel sector?
Innovation in panels is not a new slogan but a problem solved in the section. Hybrid cores, membrane laminated roofs, solar compatible profiles and perforated acoustic sheets each answer a problem from the field.
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Sector
Changing trends and customer expectations in construction
The panel buyer's question changed in a decade. Annual energy cost, a certified fire class and the delivery schedule took the place of the price per square metre; the test report is now asked for with the quotation.
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Sector
Panel selection without a specification: five lines to write
Without a specification the decision is made on site, and the decision on site is whatever is to hand. A five-line technical description saves the project from that point.
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Quality Management
What documents quality in panel manufacturing?
Quality is not a slogan but a documented chain: EN 14509 for the product, EN 13501-1 for the fire class, and ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 on the system side. A performance value with no document counts as unwritten.
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Sector
The right product for the project: six questions that decide the panel
Panel selection starts with the conditions, not the product. Fire class, target U-value, span and load, humidity, appearance and panel length; six answers narrow the catalogue to one product.
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Industrial Products
What does after-sales support mean for a sandwich panel?
After-sales support on panels is five concrete headings: correct loading, undamaged delivery, a joint detail valid on site, maintenance after installation and the document file. All five are discussed before the order.
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Sandwich Panels
Tolerance in panels: why two quotations may not be the same product
The difference between two panels that look alike is hidden in the steel thickness, the core density and the declared values. Tolerance is not a defect; an undeclared tolerance is.
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Sandwich Panels
What really sets installation speed?
Installation speed comes from planning more than from the panel. Panel length, cover width, the screw system, the delivery order and a ready joint detail are all decided at the order stage.
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Sandwich Panels
Which number measures insulation performance?
The insulation of a panel is measured not by the thermal conductivity of the core but by the thermal transmittance of the section. They are different numbers, and the second one decides.
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Sandwich Panels
The structural capacity of a panel: span, load and service life
The load capacity of a panel comes from the steel, the rib geometry and the core making the two sheets work together. Spans are chosen from the load table, not estimated.
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Sandwich Panels
Fire and panels: class and resistance are not the same thing
Fire class is the reaction of a material to fire; fire resistance is the resistance of a building element in minutes. They look to separate standards, and confusing them in a specification stops the project at the permit stage.
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Sandwich Panels
Where is the environmental impact of a panel decided?
In the environmental balance of an envelope, the largest item is not production but the energy the building spends over its life. The thickness decision is therefore an environmental decision.
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Sandwich Panels
The cost of a sandwich panel has four parts
The cost of a panel is not its price per square metre. The panel, the installation, the difference in the structure and the energy paid over the life of the building; the fourth is often the largest.
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Sandwich Panels
The advantages of a sandwich panel: insulation, installation speed and one-piece length
The advantage of a sandwich panel is that it takes the insulation inside the envelope. Insulation on site stops being a separate trade, and a one-piece length ends the joints on the roof.
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