Melsorb Ultralight Acoustic Panels

Description

Nankarrow Melsorb is a high performance architectural acoustic absorber made from open cell melamine resin foam. It is designed for spaces where echo control, speech clarity, fire safety, low weight, and clean architectural detailing are important.

With its fine open cell structure, Melsorb provides strong sound absorption, especially in the medium and high frequency range. It is suitable for offices, studios, restaurants, hotels, schools, auditoriums, public buildings, sports facilities, industrial spaces, and other interiors where excessive reverberation affects comfort, clarity, and usability.

Why Choose Nankarrow Melsorb?

• High sound absorption performance for echo and reverberation control
• Lightweight melamine foam with an average density of approximately 9 kg per m³
• Low flammability without additional flame retardants
• Fiber free construction
• Easy to cut, shape, route, print, coat, clad, or fabricate
• Suitable for wall panels, ceiling panels, baffles, rafts, clouds, cylinders, cubes, and custom acoustic shapes
• Good dimensional stability with flexibility
• Suitable for direct adhesive fixing, suspended systems, grid ceilings, cable systems, and track based installations
• Clean architectural appearance for modern interiors

Acoustic Performance

Melsorb is especially effective for controlling reflected sound in occupied interiors. It helps reduce reverberation, improve speech intelligibility, reduce harshness, and make rooms more comfortable for conversation, work, learning, dining, recording, listening, and public use.

The material performs particularly well in the medium and high frequency range from approximately 500 Hz to 5,000 Hz. For lower frequency control, it can be combined with additional acoustic layers, backing systems, or spacing from the wall or ceiling, depending on the project requirement.

Thickness	Weighted Sound Absorption	Sound Absorption Class	NRC
25 mm	0.50	Class D	0.60
40 mm	0.65	Class C	0.75
50 mm	0.80	Class B	0.85
60 mm	0.95	Class A	0.90

Absorption values are based on laboratory measurement references stated in the technical data sheet. Actual site performance depends on thickness, coverage area, mounting method, room volume, surface finishes, furniture, occupancy, and installation quality.

Recommended Applications

Offices and Workplaces

Melsorb is suitable for open offices, meeting rooms, call centres, cabins, conference rooms, reception areas, and collaborative workspaces. It helps reduce reflected noise from speech, phones, office equipment, and hard interior surfaces.

Studios, Music Rooms, and Media Spaces

Melsorb can be used in recording rooms, podcast studios, rehearsal areas, home studios, TV studios, cinemas, listening rooms, and media spaces where controlled reverberation and clarity are important.

Hotels, Restaurants, and Cafes

Restaurants, cafes, hotel lobbies, lounges, banquet spaces, and hospitality interiors often suffer from excessive noise buildup. Melsorb helps improve acoustic comfort while allowing creative ceiling and wall design.

Schools and Educational Spaces

Classrooms, libraries, activity rooms, nurseries, training rooms, and lecture spaces benefit from controlled reverberation, improved speech clarity, and reduced listening fatigue.

Public Buildings

Melsorb is suitable for auditoriums, multipurpose halls, community spaces, transport areas, museums, temples, prayer halls, and civic buildings where acoustics and fire safety are both important design considerations.

Sports and Leisure Facilities

Indoor sports halls, gymnasiums, swimming pools, fitness centres, clubs, and recreational spaces often have hard reflective surfaces and high sound levels. Melsorb can be used as ceiling or wall absorbers to reduce reverberation and improve comfort.

Manufacturing and Industrial Spaces

In production halls, plant rooms, testing areas, machine rooms, and industrial facilities, Melsorb absorbers can help reduce reflected sound and improve working conditions when used as part of a suitable noise control design.

Design Flexibility

Nankarrow Melsorb offers significant design freedom. It can be supplied as simple flat panels or fabricated into custom acoustic forms such as baffles, rafts, cylinders, cubes, pyramids, nodules, ceiling features, wall absorbers, room dividers, or integrated design elements.

The material can be cut, routed, die cut, printed, coated, clad, or combined with other architectural finishes, subject to project specific testing and suitability. This makes it useful for architects, interior designers, acoustic consultants, contractors, OEMs, and facility owners who need both acoustic performance and design flexibility.

Technical Properties

Property	Standard	Value
Density	EN ISO 845	9 kg per m³, plus or minus 1.5
Compressive Strength	EN ISO 3386 1	Greater than 9 kPa
Tensile Strength	EN ISO 1798	Greater than 130 kPa
Elongation at Break	EN ISO 1798	Greater than 21 percent
Fire Behaviour, Germany	DIN 4102 1	B1
Fire Behaviour, Europe	EN 13501 1	B or C, depending on grade and configuration
Fire Behaviour, USA	ASTM E84	Class A

Installation Options

Direct Adhesive Fixing

Melsorb panels can be bonded directly to walls and ceilings using suitable adhesive systems. The substrate should be clean, dry, grease free, dust free, oil free, and capable of supporting the panel weight. The correct adhesive must be selected based on the substrate, site conditions, panel size, and installation method.

Suspended Grid Ceiling Systems

Melsorb can be used in suspended grid ceiling systems where removable acoustic tiles are required. This allows easier access for inspection, services, lighting, and maintenance.

Vertical and Horizontal Cable Systems

Where direct fixing is not preferred, Melsorb panels and baffles can be suspended using suitable cable systems, anchors, tensioners, and clips. This is useful for exposed ceilings, large volumes, high ceilings, and areas where acoustic elements need to be positioned closer to the sound source.

Track Based Systems

Track based suspension can provide a more stable fixing method than simple cable systems, especially in environments with air movement from ventilation systems. Panels can be supplied with suitable grooves or profiles where required for the selected suspension method.

Common Product Formats

• Flat acoustic wall panels
• Ceiling acoustic panels
• Suspended acoustic baffles
• Acoustic rafts and clouds
• Acoustic cylinders
• Acoustic cubes
• Room dividers and hanging screens
• Custom CNC cut acoustic shapes
• Fabric covered or coated acoustic elements, subject to project requirement

Best Used For

• Reducing echo in rooms with hard surfaces
• Improving speech clarity
• Reducing reverberation time
• Improving listening comfort
• Controlling noise buildup in large spaces
• Adding acoustic treatment without heavy structural loading
• Creating visually clean acoustic walls and ceilings
• Developing custom architectural acoustic features

Important Note

Melsorb is a sound absorbing material. It is used primarily to control echo, reverberation, and reflected sound within a room. It should not be confused with a soundproofing barrier. For airborne sound isolation between rooms, walls, floors, ceilings, doors, windows, and services must be designed with appropriate mass, sealing, decoupling, and flanking control.

For best results, the required thickness, coverage area, location, and mounting method should be selected based on the room size, usage, existing finishes, acoustic target, and site conditions.

Suitable For

• Architects
• Interior designers
• Acoustic consultants
• Contractors
• OEM manufacturers
• Facility managers
• Office fit out companies
• Hospitality projects
• Education projects
• Public infrastructure projects
• Studio and media room projects

Summary

Nankarrow Melsorb is a lightweight, fiber free, fire resistant, high absorption melamine acoustic foam for professional architectural acoustics. It combines strong sound absorption, design flexibility, easy fabrication, and multiple installation possibilities, making it a practical choice for modern interiors where both acoustic comfort and visual quality matter.