MCL Plastic Laminate Grade

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Author Message Dale Hurttgam, NCARB, AIA,LEED AP, CSI Senior Member Username: dwhurttgam Post Number: 11 Registered: 10-2005 Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 10:06 am:    We have a casework specification that is in the range of 6 to 10 years old. It calls for semi-exposed surfaces to receive a laminate grade MCL. We are trying to run down what this grade may have represented. Have not found it on the Web and now have a call into several manufacturers to see if they have info on it. Does anyone recall what this grade represented? Wayne Yancey Senior Member Username: wyancey Post Number: 182 Registered: 05-2005 Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 10:40 am:    Dale, I have never heard of MCL used as a grade for PLam. If the grade is not in the AWI or WIC Manuals it may be a typo. It may have referred to melamine panels in a round about way. Sorry I am of no concrete assistance. Wayne (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 11:30 am:    Could MCL stand for "Melamine Cabinet Liner" grade? John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 578 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 11:42 am:    The plastic laminate manufacturing standard is NEMA LD-3, promulgated strangely enough by the National Electrical Manufacturer's Association. (Available on line for free, by the way.) The current standard (2005) does not have an MCL grade, and I don't specifically recollect it in the past. However, semi-exposed surfaces would typically receive a cabinet liner grade, which may explain the "CL" portion of this designation. The current NEMA standard has CLS as the cabinet liner grade. But I'm going to agree with anonymous that MCL stands for Melamine Cabinet Liner. This type of decorative overlay is laminated to the panel at the time the panel (typically MDF or particleboard) is manufactured. The Composite Panel Association identifies three types of materials commonly used for decorative overlays: melamine, polyester and phenolic. Contacting either NEMA or one of plam manufacturers may unearth a prior edition of the standard to explain the difference. J. Peter Jordan Senior Member Username: jpjordan Post Number: 202 Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 07:09 pm:    A bit of trivia... The reason decorative laminate has a NEMA specification is that it was developed from the material developed for use as circuit board material for consumer electronics. This was a story told me by an ex-Formica salesman who, in one of his first jobs after graduation from Cal Tech, did circuit board mockups for electronics manufacturers. (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Tuesday, September 26, 2006 - 07:22 pm:    Speaking of trivia, the best-known laminate trade name is said to have resulted from laminate's development as an electrical insulator--a substitute for the preferred insulator mica, a natural mineral available only where you found it, and therefore limited in supply. The new product was a "subtitute for mica"... Kathryn Marek, CCS (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Thursday, October 12, 2006 - 01:28 pm:    Here's some information that I got from Formica several years ago. I haven't been able to find it again, but I'm pretty sure this is still current. Plastic Laminate Grades Grade 10 General Purpose Grade (HGS, Nominal Thickness .048"(1.2mm)) The most widely specified grade; recommended for horizontal and vertical interior applications. Grade 12 Horizontal Forming Grade (HGP, Nominal Thickness .038"(1.0mm)) Outside radius to 1/2" (12.7mm) and cove radius to 3/16" (4.8mm). Postformable to permit bending on suitable commercial postforming equipment. Use whenever forming is desired for decorative or functional purposes in interior applications. Optimum postforming temperature is 325„aF (163„aC). Note: When used with a polished finish, Grade 12 is recommended only for light duty horizontal surfaces. Grade 20 Vertical Postforming Grade (VGP, Nominal Thickness .028" (0.7mm)) Outside and inside radii to 3/8" (9.5mm). A forming grade designed for vertical or light duty horizontal interior applications requiring radiused edges. Thinner than Grade 12; excellent for postformed radii. Installed panel width not to exceed 24" (609.6mm) maximum. Grade 25 Postforming Grade (Nominal Thickness 0.038" (1.0mm)) Intended for application to interior horizontal and vertical surfaces where design, appearance, quality, durability and resistance to relatively harsh acids, alkalis, corrosive salts and other destructive or staining substances are required. Available only for Formica Chemtop chemical resistant laminate items. Grade 30 Vertical Postforming Grade (VGP, Nominal Thickness .039" (1.0mm)) Engineered for vertical surfaces and light duty horizontal interior applications. Postformable with a minimum inside and outside radius of 1/2" (12.7mm). Optimum postforming temperature is 325„aF (163„aC). Grade 32 Fire-Rated Vertical Grade (VGF, Nominal Thickness .032" (0.8mm)) Intended for use in vertical and horizontal interior applications which require low flame spread ratings to conform to building codes. Classified by Underwriter=s Laboratories, Inc. and meets most military and marine specifications. Slightly thinner than Grade 50. Grade 41 (HCS, Nominal Thickness .051" (1.3mm)) ColorCore7 surfacing material in matte finish for general purpose interior use. Solid color throughout; eliminates the "dark line" of standard laminates. Grade 43 (HCS, Nominal Thickness .062" (1.6mm)) ColorCore surfacing material in polished finish for vertical or light duty horizontal interior applications. Solid color throughout; eliminates the "dark line" of standard laminates. Available in 909 Black and 949 White only. Grade 50 Fire-Rated General Purpose Grade (HGF, Nominal Thickness .048"(1.2mm)) Intended for use in vertical and horizontal interior applications which require low flame spread ratings to conform to building codes. Classified by Underwriter=s Laboratories, Inc. and meets most military and marine specifications. Grade 51 General Purpose Grade (HGS, Nominal Thickness .050" (1.2mm)) Dimensional laminate for horizontal and vertical interior applications. Similar in properties to Grade 10. Grade 52 General Purpose Forming Grade (HGP, Nominal Thickness .039" (1.0mm)) Postformable to permit bending on suitable commercial postforming equipment. Used whenever forming is desired for decorative or functional purposes in interior applications. Similar in properties to Grade 12. Grade 72 (Nominal Thickness .020" (0.5mm)) Non-decorative surface; light duty interior use cabinet liner for balancing and moisture control of laminate panels. Grade 87 (Nominal Thickness .028" (0.7mm)) Non-decorative surface; light duty interior use, fire-rated backing sheet for balancing and moisture control of laminate panels. Grade 89 (Nominal Thickness .048" (1.2mm)) Non-decorative surface; general purpose interior use fire-rated backing sheet for balancing and moisture control of laminate panels. Grade 91 (Nominal Thickness .020" (0.5mm)) BKL Non-decorative surface; light duty interior use backing sheet for balancing and moisture control of laminate panels. Grade 92 (Nominal Thickness .048" (1.2mm)) Non-decorative surface; general purpose interior use backing sheet for balancing and moisture control of laminate panels. Grade V4 Vertical General Purpose Non-Forming Grade (VGS, Nominal Thickness 0.028" (0.7mm)) Recommended for vertical or light duty horizontal interior applications. A 3" (76.2mm) cold form radius is possible on o 2" (50.8mm) wide strip. V4 is not produced as a postforming material. Available only for The Laurinda Spear Collection items. George A. Everding, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA Senior Member Username: geverding Post Number: 236 Registered: 11-2004 Posted on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 - 01:05 pm:    Just happened to end up here while researching another p'lam question. To follow up on Karen's information, it is currently available on the Formica website at http://www.formica.com/publish/site/na/us/en/index/laminate/grades_and_finishes.html Grades and Finishes Anne Whitacre, FCSI CCS Senior Member Username: awhitacre Post Number: 414 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 - 01:42 pm:    and who is "Laurinda Spear" and what is her Collection? Jerome J. Lazar, RA, CCS, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: lazarcitec Post Number: 277 Registered: 05-2003 Posted on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 - 02:44 pm:    Laurinda Spear is a partner in Arquitectonica - a Miami based Internationally known avant garde architectural firm. She has (as other well known designers - Robert Stern, Michael Graves) managed to sell her name to manufacturers for increased sales, if not a little ego boosting. You should check out their web site - very cool. John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 612 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 - 09:08 am:    It's important to point out that these "grades" appear to be proprietary to Formica. They are not part of the NEMA standard, so you can't use them with other manufacturers (unless there is another standard out there that I'm not aware of.) Formica's listing does have the NEMA grade in parentheses, where applicable. It is interesting to note that Formica makes some product types that are not covered in the NEMA standard. The NEMA docs are here.