ACMA releases guidelines for FRP architectural products

Arlington, Va. — The American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA) released Guidelines and Recommended Practices for Fiber-Reinforced-Polymer (FRP) Architectural Products. The guidelines are available online now at www.svy.mk/1SSF7nX, and will be free for a limited time. They will also be distributed at ACMA's Composites Pavilion at the upcoming AIA Convention in Philadelphia, May 19-21.

This document, published by the ACMA, includes a comprehensive set of guidelines and recommendations for the use of fiber reinforced polymer in architectural products and designs. It is extremely valuable to any business in the composites industry supply chain looking to adapt to the latest advances in architecture.

"As the worlds of manufacturing and architecture continue overlapping, 2016 is the year composites will go big in architecture," said ACMA President Tom Dobbins. "Having codes and guidelines that govern the application of composites in architecture is not only a breakthrough, but a necessity."

The document is unique in that it has something to offer for everyone – from manufacturers to engineers and architects. Bill Kreysler, Chair of ACMA's Architectural Division and one of the foremost thought leaders on architectural composites, says having good, accurate and achievable design and specification guidelines is the most important tool for growing our industry.

"Selling products to architects, contractors and engineers without a design guide and specifications is like playing chess without rules," Kreysler says.

West Carolina University's Dr. Robert Steffen calls the document the first of its type with any "real meat on the bones." Steffen says in the past, there's been anecdotal information – stamp drawings on a one-by-one basis – but now engineers finally have a document with information for a specific application.

"If I'm sitting behind my engineering desk and someone like Bill Kreysler calls and says 'I need a job stamped,' what I do is I start looking for information to start answering questions. How can I calculate this connection strength? This is the first step toward doing that," Steffen says.