Hollow-Out GRC Decorative Panel Production: Three Core Challenges, Qinglong's 28-Year Craft Breakthrough

Openwork GRC decorative panels are a fusion of art and technology, with production challenges centered on balancing precise shaping with structural stability. As a group that has undertaken international openwork GRC projects such as the Ouargla Hotel in Algeria, Qinglong Group has overcome numerous technical challenges over 28 years, achieving high-quality production with openwork ratios exceeding 50%.

Thanks to their distinctive open-through styling, openwork GRC decorative panels are widely used in curtain walls, landscape features, and other applications, but the openwork structure can easily cause problems such as insufficient strength and difficult forming. Through technological innovation and process optimization, Qinglong has raised the production pass rate of openwork GRC to over 98%, giving designers greater creative freedom.

Challenge 1: Balancing Openwork Ratio and Structural Strength

The higher the openwork ratio, the more open the decorative effect, but the harder it is to ensure structural strength—this is the core contradiction in openwork GRC production. Qinglong uses mechanical calculations to optimize openwork patterns and their distribution, avoiding large areas of continuous openwork, and sets stiffening ribs at openwork edges to enhance overall rigidity. In the Ouargla Hotel project in Algeria, the openwork GRC panels had an openwork ratio exceeding 50%; with properly arranged stiffening ribs, the flexural strength still reached over 15MPa, meeting application requirements.

Challenge 2: Mold Precision and Demolding Control

Molds for openwork structures must precisely replicate the design pattern, with demanding requirements for detail accuracy, and uneven forces during demolding can easily cause damage. Qinglong uses high-precision CNC-engraved molds to ensure openwork details are accurate; a special release agent is applied to the mold surface, and a "segmented demolding + flexible demolding" process is adopted to prevent panel damage from forceful demolding. In the colored openwork carved panel project for the Liyuan Hotel in Nanning, this mold and demolding process successfully produced complex openwork patterns with no damage or deformation after demolding.

Challenge 3: Slurry Flow and Forming Stability

The openwork structure makes slurry flow paths complex, easily leading to problems such as incomplete filling and excessive air bubbles. Qinglong optimized the slurry mix ratio to improve flowability and cohesion, adopting a "layered pouring + vacuum dewatering" process to ensure the slurry fully fills the mold gaps and expels air bubbles. Vibrating tables assist forming during production to increase slurry compactness. In the Sanya Yingbin No. 1 project, the openwork details of the GRC decorative panels were fully filled, with smooth surfaces free of defects such as honeycombing and pitting.

The production of openwork GRC decorative panels is a comprehensive test of a manufacturer's design, molds, and processes. For 28 years, Qinglong has remained committed to technological innovation, successfully overcoming three core challenges through mechanical optimization, mold upgrades, and process improvements. High-quality openwork GRC decorative panels both realize designers' artistic creativity and ensure structural safety, making them a standout product in high-end architectural decoration and demonstrating Qinglong's technical strength as an industry leader.