Porcelain

Porcelain Honeycomb Panels (Sintered Stone)

In short: a porcelain honeycomb panel is a 3–9 mm porcelain (sintered stone) face bonded to an aluminium honeycomb core. The core is what makes the panel work — it gives a thin, brittle slab the stiffness to stay flat over large spans, takes impact far better than the bare slab, and keeps the weight at roughly 12–20 kg/m². We make them up to 1600 × 3200 mm and fabricate them to drawings with a dry-fix bracket system, at our own factory in Foshan, China (manufacturing since 2000).

Specifications

Item Range
Face material Porcelain / sintered stone slab, 3 mm as standard (6 mm and 9 mm available)
Backing Aluminium honeycomb core, 20–25 mm typical
Maximum panel size 1600 × 3200 mm
Typical total thickness About 23–35 mm depending on face and core
Core material Aluminium foil, alloy 3003 or 5052
Adhesive Aerospace-grade epoxy film / two-component polyurethane, heat and pressure cured
Anchoring Aluminium or stainless steel brackets and Z-clips, fixed to inserts bonded into the core
Weight Approx. 12–20 kg/m²
Fabrication Cut to size, grooving, edge folding, cut-outs, edge sealing, pre-installed brackets
Finishes Over a hundred porcelain and sintered stone finishes; brick-effect build-up available (up to 1220 × 2440 mm)

Why the honeycomb backing matters

Problem with a bare thin slab What the honeycomb core does
Almost no bending stiffness — it has to be fully supported and still reads as wavy Gives stiffness in both directions, so the panel stays flat over a large module without a solid substrate
Brittle: impact and thermal shock crack it The core absorbs and spreads the load, so the panel survives handling and site knocks the slab would not
Heavy at solid thickness 12–20 kg/m² means lighter framing, lighter brackets and a lighter building
Nothing to fix into Fixings land on solid inserts bonded into the core — not through the porcelain

Applications

Application Why it fits
Facades and rainscreens Non-absorbent, colour-stable face plus the stiffness of the core; ventilated construction matches the tested air-gap condition
Interior feature walls and lobbies Large one-piece panels, tight joints, wide choice of finishes
Wet areas — bathrooms and kitchens Water-resistant and easy to clean, at a fraction of the weight of a solid slab
Lift and elevator interiors Light, flat car walls with few joints — see our elevator interior panels
Table tops and furniture Stain-resistant work surface, lighter and less prone to warping than solid — see stone honeycomb table tops
Brick-effect interiors One-piece pre-fabricated brick wall at a fraction of the installation cost of real brick

Fire performance — what each report actually covers

Product tested Standard Result Report / laboratory
Stone honeycomb panel, approx. 39 mm EN 13501-1:2018 A2-s1,d0 SDFS2002000643FF — SGS-CSTC Shunde (CNAS L7877)
Aluminium honeycomb composite panel, 15 mm GB 8624-2006 A2-s1,d0,t0 202110132 — National Fireproof Building Materials Quality Supervision and Inspection Centre (CNAS L0698)
Stone honeycomb panel BS 476 Part 6 & Part 7 Fire propagation / surface spread of flame GZIN170200265CCM — SGS-CSTC Guangzhou
Stone honeycomb panel, 20 mm JG/T 328-2011 + GB 8624-2012 B1-s1,d0,t0, 19 tests passed WT2019B01B01371 — China Building Material Test & Certification Group

The EN 13501-1 A2-s1,d0 result applies to the stone honeycomb panel and is valid where an air gap exists between the panel and a class A1/A2 substrate of density ≥ 800 kg/m³ and thickness ≥ 6 mm. The GB 8624 A2 result applies to the aluminium honeycomb composite panel. Tell us your build-up and we will confirm which report covers it.

Fabrication and installation

We supply the whole package, not just the sheet: panel, brackets, Z-clips and edge sealing. Because the panels are fabricated to drawings at the factory — cut, grooved, folded, cut-outs formed, edges sealed, brackets pre-installed — the site works with finished components. Fat-edge or exposed-edge details are sealed at the factory to stop water tracking into the core.

Frequently asked questions

What sizes can you make?

Porcelain and sintered stone honeycomb panels go up to 1600 × 3200 mm (5.12 m² per panel). Panels of that size usually close a whole wall or facade bay in one piece, which cuts the number of joints and the installation time. Tell us the module you need and we will confirm it against the sheet size of the porcelain you have chosen.

Why bond porcelain to a honeycomb core?

Because a thin porcelain slab on its own is brittle and has almost no bending stiffness. Bonding it to an aluminium honeycomb core gives the panel stiffness in both directions, so it stays flat over large spans, takes impact far better than the bare slab, and weighs a fraction of a solid porcelain or stone slab of the same area. It also lets us put the fixing points into the core, not into the porcelain.

What face thickness and total thickness should I specify?

Porcelain faces are usually 3 mm, with 6 mm and 9 mm available where the design calls for it. With a 20–25 mm honeycomb backing, typical total thicknesses land between about 23 mm and 35 mm. The choice is driven by span, wind load and impact requirement — send us the loading and we will recommend a build-up rather than guess.

Can porcelain honeycomb panels be used externally?

Yes. Porcelain is virtually non-absorbent and colour-stable, which makes it a good rainscreen material, and the honeycomb backing gives it the stiffness that a thin slab lacks. Ventilated rainscreen construction also matches the air-gap condition under which our fire classification was assessed (see below). For solid-bedded constructions, tell us the build-up and we will say whether a test covers it.

What fire performance do you have?

The reports we can give you, with their exact scope, are: EN 13501-1:2018 achieving A2-s1,d0 (report SDFS2002000643FF, SGS-CSTC Shunde, CNAS L7877) for the stone honeycomb panel at approx. 39 mm; GB 8624-2006 A2-s1,d0,t0 (report 202110132, National Fireproof Building Materials Quality Supervision and Inspection Centre, CNAS L0698) for the aluminium honeycomb composite panel at 15 mm; and BS 476 Part 6 & 7 (GZIN170200265CCM, SGS-CSTC Guangzhou) and JG/T 328-2011 with GB 8624-2012 B1-s1,d0,t0 (WT2019B01B01371) for stone honeycomb panels. Please note these are reports on specific products — we will tell you plainly whether the build-up you want is covered, and if it is not, we say so instead of stretching a certificate.

How are the panels fixed?

We supply the panels with a dry-fix system: aluminium or stainless steel brackets and Z-clips, with the fixing points landing on solid inserts bonded into the core rather than on the porcelain. Panels are fabricated to drawings at the factory — cut to size, grooved and folded where a return is needed, cut-outs formed, edges sealed, brackets pre-installed — so the site only has to hang them.

What porcelain finishes are available?

We stock access to well over a hundred porcelain and sintered stone finishes — marbles, concretes, solids, metals and stone looks. We can also supply a brick-effect build-up, where porcelain brick faces are bonded to a honeycomb core to give a one-piece, pre-fabricated brick wall (up to 1220 × 2440 mm) with much faster installation than real brick.

Can we supply our own porcelain?

Yes. Send the slabs and we will bond, fabricate and pack them. Please check flatness and thickness tolerance before shipping, because both affect the finished panel — a sample first is the safest route.

Contact

Foshan Liming Honeycomb Composites Co., Ltd. (HYCOMB®) — No. 10 Huasha Road, Hongsha Hi-Tech Zone, Guanyao, Nanhai District, Foshan 528237, China.
Tel: +86-757-8522 3766 · intl@hycomb.com.cn
Related pages: Stone honeycomb panels for facades · Honeycomb panels for elevator interiors · Sintered stone cladding guide · Stone honeycomb table tops · Certifications & test reports


Reference projects using stone honeycomb panels