Specification tool

Panel Material Selector

You've picked the frame and the door. The next question — what goes in the openings — stalls more projects than either, because the trade-offs between clarity, impact resistance, airflow, cleanability and cost all pull against each other. Answer these and you'll get a ranked shortlist with thickness, retention method, and the failure modes to watch for.

Faztek Industrial Solutions
Panel Material Recommendation

1. What is the panel for?

Select all that apply

2. How hard could something hit it?

3. Visibility and airflow

Motors, drives and welding cells often need it. A solid panel around a heat source creates a new problem.

4. Environment

5. Panel size and budget

Distance between frame members. Adding an intermediate rail is almost always cheaper than stepping up panel thickness across a whole cell.
Used for the rough material cost comparison only.
Recommended panel
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Estimated material cost

panel only
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excludes retention hardware, gaskets and cutting
Scope the whole project →

Retention: how the panel is held in the frame

Captured in the slot. Panels up to about ¼" (6 mm) slide into the profile groove, usually with a gasket. Cleanest appearance and no exposed hardware, but the frame has to be disassembled to change a panel — which matters if you expect to replace scratched windows.
Surface mounted. Thicker panels, mesh and steel sheet mount to the face of the profile with panel clips, brackets or a retaining strip. Panels come out without breaking the frame down, at the cost of a slightly thicker section and visible fasteners.

Where the panel forms part of a fixed guard, most guarding standards expect fasteners that stay with the guard or require a tool to remove — so that a removed panel can't simply be left off. Confirm the requirement that applies to your installation.

What this tool does not decide for you

  • Safe distance and aperture size. If you choose mesh or perforated panel, the opening size and the distance from the hazard have to be checked together — a mesh that's safe at 400 mm from the hazard is not safe at 100 mm.
  • Guard height and gap under the barrier. Governed by the applicable standard and your risk assessment.
  • Impact containment for high-energy hazards. Spindle crashes, high-speed rotating machinery and anything with stored energy require a tested guard assembly — panel, frame and fixings together. A panel specification alone doesn't establish containment. Ask for test data.
  • Ageing. Polycarbonate loses impact resistance over time, faster with UV and coolant exposure. Where it is doing containment work, it should be on an inspection and replacement schedule.

Recommendations are generated from the inputs shown and reflect general industry practice. They are not an engineering determination, not a safety approval, and not a quotation. Final material selection must be validated by a competent person against your risk assessment and the standards applicable to your installation.