FIDAR System's ACM panels consist of two thin aluminum face sheets bonded to a polyethylene core, creating a rigid, lightweight composite sheet. Available in 8 face/back combinations for maximum design flexibility. All panels are 3mm total thickness on 4×8 ft sheets.
ACM panels can be cut with a circular saw (carbide blade), router, or shear. V-grooving allows crisp bends without breaking the core. Do not use a laser cutter, the aluminum face generates reflective damage. Edges can be finished with edge trim or folded returns for a clean appearance.
ACM panels are a standard material in modern commercial building facades and exterior cladding systems. The lightweight composite structure allows large panel sizes to be installed at a fraction of the weight of solid aluminum or stone, with a consistent painted finish that is weather-resistant.
Sign shops across Canada use ACM as the primary substrate for flat-cut logo panels, building signs, and the side returns of illuminated channel letter signs. The white matte face variants (WM+WM and WM+WG) are the most commonly used in the signage industry for print and vinyl-applied sign faces.
Retail interior contractors and storefront fit-out companies use ACM panels for fascia cladding, entrance canopy soffits, and brand-colour store exterior elements. The panels can be V-grooved and bent to follow reveals and transitions without additional framing.
Trade show display builders use ACM panels for modular exhibition walls, booth structures, and branded display systems. The lightweight composite makes large-format displays practical to ship and assemble, and the range of face finishes provides design flexibility.
Commercial interior contractors use ACM for elevator cladding, lobby wall panels, and high-traffic interior surface applications. The Black Matte + Black Gloss and Mirror Silver variants are particularly used in premium interior spaces.
How to Fabricate ACM Panels: Aluminum Composite
Measure & Mark
Mark cut lines on the protective masking film. ACM panels have a matte paint face - pencil marks show well. For V-groove bend lines, measure from both ends and mark clearly before setting up the router.
Saw to Size
Cut ACM panels with a circular saw using a fine-tooth carbide blade (80T+). Keep the blade cutting from the face side to minimize face sheet chipping. A CNC router with a compression spiral bit also produces clean cuts. Do NOT use a laser cutter - the aluminum face reflects the laser beam and will damage the machine optics.
V-Groove for Bends
To create a clean 90° fold, route a V-groove through the polyethylene core using a V-groove router bit, leaving the back face sheet intact. The depth of the groove determines the bend angle. After routing, fold along the groove line - the panel will bend cleanly to the desired angle without cracking.
Fold & Fasten Returns
After V-grooving, fold the panel to the required angle and secure the return with rivets, screws, or panel tape applied to the internal polyethylene face. For sign returns, pop rivets at 150-200mm centres provide adequate strength.
Apply Graphics & Install
For vinyl graphics, clean the face with IPA before application. ACM's smooth factory-painted surface accepts pressure-sensitive vinyl films and direct UV printing. For building cladding, fasten to the sub-frame with concealed rivets or aluminum extrusion clips per the cladding system specification.
| Property | ACM Panels: Aluminum Composite | Solid Aluminum Sheet |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | ~3.6 kg/m² (lightweight composite) | ~5.4 kg/m² at 2mm, ~8.1 at 3mm |
| Rigidity | High panel stiffness for 3mm composite | Heavier; rigid through thickness |
| Surface options | 8 face/back combinations - matte, gloss, metallic, mirror, brushed | Limited colour options unless painted |
| Fabrication | V-grooving for clean bends, circular saw, router | Requires metalworking tools - shear, brake press |
| Price | $63.18-$140.18 CAD per 4×8 ft panel | Higher for equivalent panel dimensions |
| Laser cutting | Not suitable - aluminum reflects laser beam | Not suitable for standard CO2 laser |
ACM stands for Aluminum Composite Material. It is a sandwich panel consisting of two thin aluminum face sheets (0.2mm or 0.3mm) bonded to a solid polyethylene core. The result is a rigid, flat panel that is significantly lighter than solid aluminum of equivalent panel size. The face sheets are factory-painted in a range of finishes - matte, gloss, metallic, brushed, or mirror.
Yes. ACM panels can be bent using V-grooving - a routing technique that removes the polyethylene core along a fold line, allowing the face sheets to be bent cleanly to 90° and other angles without breaking. This is how sign shop fabricators create letter returns and clean reveal transitions on building cladding. Do not attempt to cold-bend ACM without V-grooving; it will crack the face sheet.
Yes. ACM panels are a widely used exterior cladding material and are engineered for outdoor exposure. The painted aluminum face is weather-resistant. However, not all ACM grades have the same fire rating - for occupied building facades in Canada, check local building code requirements for cladding material specifications.
ACM panels at FIDAR System are available with 0.2mm and 0.3mm face sheet thicknesses depending on the colour combination. The 0.3mm face variants (White Matte + White Gloss, Black Matte + Black Gloss, Mirror Silver) have a slightly heavier, more rigid face - preferred for applications where the face will be handled frequently or needs to resist denting.
No. Laser cutting is not suitable for ACM panels. The aluminum face sheets reflect the CO2 laser beam, which can damage the laser optics. ACM should be cut with a circular saw (fine-tooth carbide blade), jigsaw, or CNC router. Shearing is also possible for straight cuts.
A supplier. We import aluminum composite panels, hold them in stock in North York, Ontario, and cut them to size on our own CNC router. We do not roll the aluminum or bond the polyethylene core, and neither do most of the companies that come back when you search for aluminum composite panel manufacturers in Canada. ACM is pressed on a small number of continuous bond lines, so nearly every Canadian source is a stocking distributor. What separates one from another is what is genuinely on the floor, the skin thickness behind each finish, and whether they will cut the sheet for you.
Yes. Our stock sits at Unit 29, 601 Magnetic Drive in North York, inside the City of Toronto, and pickup is free. Inside our local 30 km zone, which covers most of the GTA, our own truck delivers for a flat $29.90. It goes out to 50 km at a distance rate, and beyond that we ship anywhere in Canada. If you need a sheet today, phone 416-857-7555 before you drive over and we will have it pulled and ready at the counter.
Four things. Skin thickness, because 0.2mm and 0.3mm rout and dent differently. Core type, because a plain polyethylene core and a fire retardant core are not interchangeable on an occupied building. Real stock rather than a catalogue listing, because a finish that has to be imported is a long wait dressed up as a product page. And whether they cut, because a supplier who only sells full sheets leaves you to find a router. Ours are 0.2mm and 0.3mm skins, polyethylene core, eight finishes held in North York, cut on site.
Both. The prices on this page are what a single sheet costs, and they do not change if you only need one. For pallet quantities, a standing monthly order or a project take off, send the quantity through the quote form and we will come back with a price for that volume. We supply sign shops, fascia and cladding contractors, fabricators and display builders across Ontario on that basis.
Yes, on the CNC router. ACM cannot be laser cut, because the aluminum face reflects the beam and damages the optics, so every cut ACM order runs on the router with a 6.35mm bit. You can price a cut piece yourself in the cut to size configurator before you order anything. We cut flat parts: panels, fascia blanks, letter backs and sign faces. V grooving for folded returns is a step you run yourself, and the fabrication tab above describes how.
We are an aluminum composite panel supplier rather than a panel manufacturer, and it is worth saying plainly, because it changes what you should ask us. The eight finishes above sit on racks at our unit on Magnetic Drive in North York. We sell them by the single sheet, we cut them on our own CNC router, and they are ready for same week pickup or delivery across the GTA. Nobody here rolls aluminum or bonds a core.
So if you run a sign shop in Scarborough, or you are chasing a fascia deadline downtown, the question that actually matters is not who pressed the panel. It is whether anyone near you has that finish on the floor, what a 4x8 sheet costs before you build a quote around it, and whether someone will cut it before you collect. This section answers those three.
| Finish | Face | Per sheet | Per sq ft | Stock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Matte + White MatteWM+WM | 0.2mm | $63.18 | $1.97 | In stock |
| White Matte + Pastel GreenWM+PG | 0.2mm | $63.18 | $1.97 | In stock |
| White Matte + Metallic SilverWM+MS | 0.2mm | $63.18 | $1.97 | In stock |
| Black Matte + Sea BlueBM+SB | 0.2mm | $63.18 | $1.97 | In stock |
| White Matte + Brushed SilverWM+BS | 0.2mm | $74.18 | $2.32 | In stock |
| Black Matte + Black GlossBM+BG | 0.3mm | $85.18 | $2.66 | In stock |
| White Matte + White GlossWM+WG | 0.3mm | $85.18 | $2.66 | In stock |
| Mirror SilverMR-SLV | 0.3mm | $140.18 | $4.38 | In stock |
Every finish we hold, priced by the sheet and by the square foot. Both columns are worked out from the same catalogue the checkout charges against, so the figure you plan around and the figure you pay are the same number.
Search for aluminum composite panel manufacturers in Canada and most of what comes back is distributors. That is not anyone being slippery, it is the shape of the industry. ACM is pressed on continuous bond lines that run a few hundred metres end to end, there are not many of them, and almost nobody you can telephone in Ontario owns one. We hold imported stock, and so does very nearly every other aluminum composite sheet supplier you will ring today.
Which is why the useful questions are about the stock and not the badge. How thick are the aluminum skins, because 0.2mm and 0.3mm behave differently under a router bit and under a thumb. What is the core made of, because that decides where the panel is allowed to go on an occupied building. And what is really in the building this week, as opposed to what the catalogue lists.
Our answers, in that order. Skins are 0.2mm or 0.3mm, and the face column above tells you which one comes with each finish. The stocked core is polyethylene, not a fire retardant grade. Fire rated core can be pre-ordered for a facade job, and your designer names which one the wall needs. And the stock column reads from the same inventory the shop sells against, so if it says in stock, it is on the rack.
White matte is the default face for flat cut sign panels, channel letter returns and anything heading under a UV flatbed or a vinyl roll. It is the finish that moves fastest here, which is why three of the four cheapest sheets in the table carry a white matte face.
Storefront fascia, canopy soffits, column wraps and reveal details. ACM goes up light, stays flat across a long run, and V grooves into a clean fold instead of needing a brake press. We supply the sheet, and we also design and install cladding ourselves, from a single storefront to a rainscreen facade.
Elevator cab linings, lobby panels, washroom partitions, and anywhere a painted surface has to survive trolleys and shoulders. Black matte and the mirror finish do most of the work in interior specifications.
Booth walls and modular display systems, where a panel has to ship across the country, survive a build, and still look new under stand lighting. A 4x8 sheet weighs a fraction of the same panel in solid aluminum.
We stock, cut and install, but some parts of a job belong to someone else. Being clear about it here saves everyone a phone call:
Sheet prices are on this page and they are the prices we charge. For a cut list, a pallet quantity, or a finish you cannot see above, send it through the quote form and you will have an answer the same business day.
Stock is at Unit 29, 601 Magnetic Drive, North York, Ontario M3J 3J2, and pickup is free. Call us if you would rather talk it through than type it out.
3mm aluminum composite material (ACM) panels in 8 face/back colour combinations. All 4×8 ft. Includes white matte, brushed silver, metallic silver, pastel green, sea blue, black matte, and mirror silver configurations.
Price per sheet
$63.18CAD
SKU
24WM0719-256-ACM-YT-M007+YT-White/Whit-0.2-3
