Common Misconceptions in Aluminum Baffle Industry: Is Thicker Always Better?

The threshold of aluminum baffle industry is not high, product quality on the market is uneven, many buyers do not understand the product, there are many cognitive misunderstandings, either spend high price to buy products with average quality, or only look at low price to buy unqualified products, causing losses to the project. This article counts the most common misunderstandings in aluminum baffle industry, helping everyone correctly purchase aluminum baffles.​

Misconception 1: The thicker the aluminum baffle, the better the quality. This is the most common misunderstanding, many buyers ask about thickness first when buying aluminum baffles, think the thicker the stronger, the better the quality, even though 0.6mm is enough, insist on 1.0mm, spend more money and not necessarily good effect. In fact, aluminum baffle quality is determined by material, surface treatment, processing accuracy, installation system and other aspects, thickness is only one factor, and thickness is enough as long as it meets mechanical requirements, too thick has many disadvantages. First is cost increase, every 0.1mm increase in thickness, cost per square meter increases by 5-8 yuan, unnecessary thick plate will greatly increase material cost; second is weight increase, too thick baffles are heavy, high load requirements on keels and structure, increase keel cost, installation is more laborious; third is aesthetics, too thick baffles have thick edges, look bulky, no delicate feeling of thin baffles. The correct way is to choose appropriate thickness according to baffle specification, installation height, use part, as long as it meets strength and stiffness requirements, for example, indoor ceiling below 4 meters, 50*100 specification baffles, 0.6mm thickness is completely enough, using 1.0mm is a waste. Of course, can't use too thin to save money, insufficient thickness will deform, but definitely not the thicker the better.​

Misconception 2: Higher price means better quality. Many people think you get what you pay for, buying expensive is right, in fact, aluminum baffle industry price transparency is not high, same product different manufacturers may quote twice the price difference, high price does not necessarily buy high quality products. Aluminum baffle price is determined by aluminum ingot price, thickness, surface treatment, processing difficulty, brand and other factors, small factory products even if sold at high price, quality is not necessarily good, because their equipment, technology, management are not good; large factory products because of scale effect, good cost control, price is not necessarily the highest but quality is stable. When purchasing aluminum baffles, can't only look at price, look at manufacturer's strength, cases, test reports, compare price with same quality, compare quality with same price, don't blindly buy high price, also don't blindly covet cheap, products obviously below market price must have problems, either thickness is cut thin, or surface treatment uses poor materials, or material uses recycled aluminum.​

Misconception 3: Only look at surface color, don't look at material and surface treatment quality. Many people choose aluminum baffles only look at color is right, whether there are scratches on the surface, think it looks similar, in fact, invisible places are the key to determine quality. First is material, same thickness aluminum baffles, using 3003 aluminum alloy and recycled aluminum price difference is more than 20%, recycled aluminum has many impurities, easy to corrode, poor strength, will deform and discolor after a few years, but surface looks exactly the same; second is surface treatment, same gray powder, ordinary polyester powder and fluorocarbon powder price difference is 3 times, outdoor use ordinary polyester fades in 2 years, fluorocarbon can be used for 15 years, color looks similar just after spraying, difference comes out after a long time; third is pretreatment, chromate treatment before spraying is very important, coating without pretreatment has poor adhesion, paint falls off after a few years, but surface can't see it at all. When purchasing, don't only look at surface, require material certificate, coating test report, fire test report, if possible, do salt spray test and adhesion test.​

Misconception 4: The straighter the aluminum baffle, the better, no bend allowed. Many people use a straight ruler to check when accepting aluminum baffles, think a little bend is poor quality, in fact, aluminum baffle is a long strip product, 6-meter long baffle will have a little bend in natural state due to gravity, which is normal, as long as the line is straight after installation, completely straight baffles may have internal stress not released, will deform after installation due to temperature change. Industry standards stipulate that straightness of aluminum baffles is 1mm/m, that is, 6-meter long baffle bend not exceeding 6mm is qualified, excessive demand for absolute straightness will increase a lot of unnecessary costs, and can't be seen after installation.​

Misconception 5: Wood grain aluminum baffles are solid wood, waterproof and fireproof. Many people think wood grain aluminum baffles look like wood, so they think they are made of wood, in fact, wood grain aluminum baffles are aluminum alloy, only printed wood grain on the surface, not waterproof and not fireproof are disadvantages of solid wood, wood grain aluminum baffles are Class A fireproof, waterproof and moistureproof, which is where they are better than solid wood. Others think the more like wood the better, in fact, good wood grain is natural and realistic, not exactly the same as wood, after all, it is metal decoration, should have metal texture, excessive pursuit of looking like wood will be fake.​

Misconception 6: After aluminum baffles are installed, it's done, no maintenance needed. Many people think aluminum baffles are metal, durable, no need to manage after installation, in fact, no matter how good the product is, maintenance is needed. Indoor aluminum baffles regularly wipe surface dust, check for loose baffles; outdoor aluminum baffles annually check whether connecting bolts are loose, whether coating is damaged, whether drainage holes are blocked, regularly clean surface, so as to ensure service life. Without maintenance, even the best aluminum baffles will be damaged in advance.​

Misconception 7: The more manufacturers the better, fight price to find the cheapest. Many project bidding find more than a dozen manufacturers to quote, whoever is cheap uses whom, results small manufacturers win the bid and cut corners for profit, thickness is cut thin, use poor powder, finally the product quality is poor, many problems after installation, too late to regret. Aluminum baffles are customized products, manufacturer's technology and service are very important, find 3-5 powerful manufacturers to compare quality and price is enough, too many manufacturers will lead to low price vicious competition, finally the loser is yourself.​

Buying aluminum baffles is actually very simple, find regular powerful manufacturers, choose appropriate thickness and good surface treatment, don't excessively pursue thickness and low price, require necessary test reports, construct in strict accordance with specifications during construction, do a good job in finished product protection and later maintenance, you can make aluminum baffle projects with good quality and good effect.