Aluminum Composite Material (ACM)

About Aluminum Composite Material (ACM)

Aluminum composite material (ACM) is a three-layer sandwich panel consisting of two pre-painted aluminum sheets bonded to a polyethylene (PE) core. ACM panels are an excellent material for indoor or outdoor applications that require good dimensional stability, low weight, and a sleek, brilliant look.

Eye-catching, durable, and only half the weight of aluminum, ACM metal panels are both attractive and practical for use in visual merchandising, framing, archiving, commercial interiors and exteriors, construction, and fine art applications.

Adventurous designs demand ACM for its aesthetic qualities combined with rigidity and ease of fabrication. DIBOND® aluminum composite panels are available in a wide range of color combinations, surface finishes, and thicknesses, and are suitable for printing or graphic mounting. Designers and engineers often substitute ACM panels for aluminum sheets or wood in interior and exterior signage, structural signage, architectural cladding, point-of-purchase (POP) displays, exhibits, and kiosks.

Industrial engineers also find aluminum composite materials advantageous for OEM applications such as engine covers and housing.

Length, width, thickness, and diameter tolerances vary by size, by manufacturer, brand, and grade. Custom sizes and colors available upon request.

Aluminum Composite Material (ACM) Options

DIBOND® — A longtime industry standard, DIBOND® ACM panels consist of two pre-painted aluminum sheets (0.012 in thick each) sandwiching a solid polyethylene core. It is the flattest aluminum composite panel on the market, approximately one-half the weight of a solid aluminum sheet, durable for outdoor applications, and well suited for digital and screen-printed graphics. It can be routed and returned to add dimension, or roll-formed to create sweeping curves. Fabrication options also include cold mounting graphics, repositioning vinyl, painting, saw cutting, routing, and die cutting/punching. DIBOND® ACM panels will not bow or experience “oil can” wrinkling.

DIBOND® is also available with a specialty mirror finish offering outstanding reflective properties similar to those of a conventional glass mirror, without the breakability of glass and at about half the weight. The mirror surfaces can be both screen and digitally printed as well as laser engraved.

DIBOND® ACM panels offer long-term application life in exhibits and kiosks; standard or archival framing; and interior, exterior, and structural signage.

Fire rating: DIBOND® is Underwriters Laboratories® Inc. recognized for UL 94V-0 and is a UL-recognized component for electrical signage. All thicknesses meet the criteria for ASTM E-84 and are Class 1 or Class A materials.

Alumanate Signage — A solid core ACM panel that is long-lasting and maintenance-free, with an ultra-smooth surface, for all types of printing, painting, die-cutting, routing and mounting.

Alumanate Signage features an enhanced PE coating specifically for direct to substrate UV & latex printing, offering exceptional ink adhesion that has been tested with all major wide format printer manufacturers.

The polyethylene blend core (premium LDPE & HDPE) allows CNC router bits to cut through panels with ease, leading to more sheets per router bit.

Available in a variety of thicknesses, colors, finishes, and sheet sizes, these ACM panels are perfect for long term application life in signage (interior, exterior, and structural), point-of-purchase displays, exhibits, kiosks, and framing.

UL/SAM listed: UL 879 for electric sign components & CSA C22.2 NO. 207-M89 for portable and stationary electric signs and displays.

Warranty: 10 year bond integrity warranty and a 10 year indoor / 5 year outdoor finish warranty on all Alumanate Signage colors.

C-TEK® — Curbell Plastics exclusive C-TEK® ACM panels offer good dimensional stability and a metallic look at half the weight of aluminum. Each is an ultra-smooth, maintenance-free, three-layer sandwich panel consisting of two pre-painted aluminum sheets bonded to a polyethylene (PE) core. Long-lasting C-TEK® ACM panels are digitally printable, can be effortlessly cut, routed, and bent, and are available in several metallic finishes and thicknesses.

Sort, compare, and find the plastic material suited for your application using our interactive properties table.