BRASS™ is the first choice in bullet-resistant fiberglass laminate.  Lighter than steel, ricochet-resistant, and readily machined with ordinary hand-tools, Micarta BRASS is the ideal reinforcing substrate for your bullet-resistant architectural and building projects.

Utilizing a unique design and manufacturing process, a Class 1-A fire-rated projectile-resistant building material is now commercially available.  BRASS can be used in commercial and government structures, where increased ballistic protection is desired, while complying with numerous federal and state flame and smoke protection regulations.  BRASS provides far greater security and protection in walls, doors, counters, or other applications, as compared to polyester-based ballistic laminates.

Applications

• Government & public buildings
• Bank teller stations & ATMs
• Courtrooms & judges' benches
• Postal facilities
• Corporate offices
• Convenience stores
• Gas stations
• Hotel lobbies
• Ballistic-resistant doors
• Armored vehicles

Features

• Class 1-A fire/smoke-rated building material (ASTM E84)
• UL-Listed
• Certified to NIJ-STD-0108.01
• High-strength
• Lightweight
• Ricochet-resistant
• Easy installation using conventional hand-tools
• Meets FAA and Federal Aviation Regulation 25.853 for commercial aircraft compartment interiors

Specifications

Availability

• Standard sizes: 4'x8', 4'x9'
• Other (non-standard) sizes available on request

Aesthetics

• Readily adheres to Nevamar® or other plastic laminates via use of contact adhesive
• Can be decorated with a wide variety of veneers, drywall, wallpaper, other wall coverings, etc.

Installation Tips

• Cut with ordinary circular, table or panel saws
• Use of carbide-edged saw blades is recommended
• Butt-joints require a 4" batten strip backing, allowing 2" overlap on both sides of joint
• Can be fastened in diverse configurations using appropriate adhesives screws, etc.

Architectural Specification

Construction:

Ballistic-resistant laminates are available in two basic constructions: transparent (e.g., acrylic & polycarbonate) and opaque (ballistic-resistant fiberglass).

Thickness:

Ballistic-resistant laminates are manufactured in a variety of thicknesses, depending on the weapon threat the designer is requiring.  As a general rule, thicker laminates provide greater ballistic threat protection.  However, all ballistic-resistant materials do not perform equally.  As a result, ballistic-resistant laminate should never be specified by thickness, only by performance level.

Ballistic Protection Level:

The industry utilizes two major testing protocols upon which ballistic-resistant laminates are designed:

• Underwriters Laboratories Inc. UL-752
• National Institute of Justice NIJ-STD-0108.01

Underwrites Laboratories is the benchmark testing agency for the industry due to its periodic product testing program to confirm performance to designated threat levels.  If the product is not UL-Listed, it was not tested by Underwriters Laboratories.  All specifications should specifically identify the UL-752 or NIJ-STD-0108.01 protection level.

Fire & Smoke Protection:

There are basically five recognized National Model Fire Codes.  These codes outline the industry regulations for interior finish building materials and can be used to identify the level of protection for ballistic-resistant materials.