5 Must-Have Features in a cladded plate

19 May.,2025

 

Top 5 things to consider when selecting exterior cladding - AL13®

Your building project’s requirements will be driven by the building code of the jurisdiction your project is in. In addition to the need to consult with a building envelope Engineer to determine code-compliant options for exterior cladding, you also need to consider the aesthetics of your exterior cladding. This is the largest area of the building that catches the eye, adds to the character of the building, and protects the building and its inhabitants from the elements.

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The AL13® Panel System and AL13® Plank System complement architectural designs whilst protecting the building from the elements. Our systems feature durable, long-lasting finishes and are compliant with rainscreen, fire, and wind load safety requirements. We have a 15-year warranty on system components, and a 20-year warranty on the finish.

The AL13® Panel System and AL13® Plank System both satisfy specific building code requirements for wind, rain, and fire as verified and tested by accredited laboratories.

Our Engineering team designs, analyzes, and validates the performance of individual system components to ensure the parts that you order and install on your building satisfy code. We continuously innovate around our products – from fasteners, system clips, back plates, top caps, outside corners, panels, and planks – to ensure adherence to code while optimizing materials and improving ease of installation.

Fire Safety

Typically, each jurisdiction contains provisions in their building code for acceptance criteria of combustibility of materials used for exterior assemblies. The standards used in North America to qualify the fire performance of materials for use in exterior wall assemblies are NFPA 285 and CAN/ULC S134.
The AL13® Panel System and AL13® Plank System can be specified for your building to satisfy these stringent requirements.

Wind Safety

All buildings experience fluctuating wind loads from constantly changing atmospheric conditions. Exterior cladding is a vulnerable component to wind loads, so we designed both our AL13® Panel and Plank systems to withstand pressures that result from wind load. Both the AL13® Panel System and the AL13® Plank System are tested against ASTM E330, which is the standard used to measure their structural performance. Building engineers and/or architects can review our data to determine the suitability for your building type, building height, and geographic location.

Rainscreen

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Modern building codes in most jurisdictions require buildings to be rain screened to mitigate any water damage caused by either rain (as it impacts the exterior wall and gets behind the cladding), or moisture build up (when moisture is trapped within the wall with no means of escape). A proper rain screen comprises three parts:

  • Exterior cladding
  • A 10mm or 3/8in air gap
  • Weather-resistant barrier

AL13® systems are certified to be pressure-equalized and are designed so that water can egress between the weather-resistant barrier and the exterior wall, which in turn, prevents moisture build-up. 

The AL13® Panel System and AL13® Plank System share common framing components to allow for a seamless transition between panel and plank. This means the exterior design of your building can comprise both panel and plank systems on the same plane, without any surface deviations, thus opening up almost unlimited creative design options.

If you feel that you need an option beyond our selection of standard colors and wood grain finishes, we also offer other colors that might suit your project. Should you wish to match the existing colors of another project or something you feel strongly about, we can read the color characteristics from your reference sample using our Spectrophotometer to color match your AL13® components.

Roll Bonded Clad Plates | Clad Steel Plate

For over fifty years, AMETEK Specialty Metal Products has been at the forefront of developing roll-bonded dissimilar metals.

Our ASTM-certified clad plate materials offer a unique advantage by combining the superior properties of each metal, including strength, corrosion resistance, lightweight characteristics, cost efficiency, and thermal and electrical conductivity. The result is a composite material that outperforms any individual metal.

Clad Plate Alloys

Clad metals produced by our roll bonding technology combine two or more metals into a single sheet or plate to produce a metallurgically bonded clad. It can then be cut, welded or formed into a finished part ranging from chemical processing chambers to pressure vessels.

We specialize in cladding stainless steel or nickel alloys to carbon steel as well as triple layer clad plates bonding stainless steel to an aluminum core.

  • Nickel Clad Steel, Stainless Clad Steel and Stainless Aluminum Clad
  • Other specialized materials include:
    Inconel® Clad Steel, Hastelloy® Clad Steel, 276 Clad Steel, Armor Plate, Copper Clad Steel, Titanium Clad Steel, and Stainless Cladded Tool Steel.
Our expert metallurgists are available to help you develop custom product specifications tailored to your exact needs.


Clad Plate Sizes

Our clad plate materials are available in the following standard sizes:

  • Widths: Up to 120”
  • Lengths: Up to 480”
  • Thicknesses: Ranging from 3/16” to 1”
  • Clad Percentage: From 5% to 40% of the overall material thickness
Additionally, we offer custom processing services, including: Close dimensional and flatness tolerances, glass beading or sand blasting one or both sides, cutting to circles or special shapes.

Clad Plate Advantages

When faced with a unique challenge, a clad metal could provide the ideal solution. Our clad plate metals offer a combination of properties and benefits that are not achievable with monolithic metals, including:
  • Improved Mechanical Properties: Enhanced strength, corrosion resistance, temperature resistance, and thermal conductivity
  • Superior Metallurgical Bond: Achieved through roll bonding
  • Reduced Maintenance & Extended Lifespan: Offering long-term reliability and performance
  • Highly Customizable: Tailored to meet specific application needs

Clad Plate Applications

Clad metals offer unique properties that, combined with a wide variety of cladding and backing materials, make them ideal for numerous demanding industries. These materials are commonly used in sectors such as chemical and petroleum processing, defense, paper and pulp, and food processing.

Typical applications include Pressure Vessels, Braising Pans, Boilers, Griddles,  Steam Vessels, Cryogenic Transition Plates, and Specialty Knives.
 

What is Roll-Bonding?

Roll bonding is a process where a specially prepared "sandwich" of backing and cladding materials is passed through a hot rolling mill, reducing thickness and bonding the backing steel to the clad material.

Parting compound separates each clad pack before welding and roll bonding to yield two separate clad plates. After cutting to size, the plates are cleaned with abrasive blasting to achieve a bright, clean surface.

Roll bonding provides significant advantages over explosive bonding, including more consistent mechanical properties and greater dimensional control.

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Clad Plate Fabrication

Clad plate can be fabricated into different shapes, which allows designers the freedom to produce custom products for a wide range of applications.

Forming:Clad materials are compatible with most fabrication methods, including shearing, plasma cutting, drawing, bending, hot forming, machining, drilling, and punching.

Welding:To fuse clad materials, the backing material is typically welded first using the appropriate filler material. The clad side is then welded with an electrode or filler metal suited to that surface.

ASTM Certified Clad Plate

Our clad plates are engineered to meet and exceed the highest industry standards, including: 

  • ASME BPVC Section II and ASTM Standards:
    Includes A263, A264, and A265 for pressure vessel fabrication. 
  • Typical Requirements:
    Supplied per SA264 with shear and bend tests and 100% ultrasonic testing (UT) per SA578-Level B. Plates are hot rolled and cleaned for optimal quality.

  • Additional Options:
    Materials can also include HIC (Hydrogen Induced Cracking) resistance, Simulated PWHT (Post-Weld Heat Treatment) coupons, and Charpy Impact testing to meet specific project needs. 

Short Lead Times and Small Batches

To meet demanding delivery timelines, we keeps an inventory of key materials, including A-285 Grade C and A-516 Grade 70 carbon steel, Nickel 200, 304L, and A-36 stainless steel. Additionally, we: This approach ensures flexibility and timely delivery for all your requirements.