Tuning translucency

The same feature that gives Vitralamn its strength is the one that costs it light. Structure means density — more lattice, thicker struts, more material in the light's path. Transparency wants the opposite: as little in the way as possible. You cannot maximize both at once, and the grade range is really a set of points chosen along that single curve.

Why density scatters light

Light crossing Vitralamn meets millions of tiny boundaries where the polymer lattice meets the void between struts. At each boundary a little light bends and scatters. Keep the struts far finer than a wavelength and most light passes straight through — the panel reads as clear. Thicken them to carry more load and you add both material and boundaries, so more light scatters sideways. That sideways scatter is haze: the panel stays bright but the view through it softens.

Strength is density and clarity is the absence of it. Every grade is a chosen point on that line.

Reading the grade curve

Across the family, transmission falls and strength climbs as the lattice densifies:

• Z1 — 82% transmission, 120 MPa. The finest lattice; specify where daylight is the priority and spans are short.
• Z2 — 74% transmission, 180 MPa. The balanced curtain-wall grade.
• ZX — 65% transmission, 250 MPa. Dense enough to span as structure; reads as luminous rather than clear.

Haze rises the same way, from 6% at Z1 to 14% at ZX. For a shopfront where sharp views matter you want Z1 or Z2; for a self-supporting roof where you want glow and load capacity, ZX's softness is a feature, diffusing daylight evenly across the space below.

Specifying by daylight, not by grade

Most clients don't think in transmission percentages — they think in how a room should feel. Tell us the span, the load, and whether you want a crisp view or a diffuse glow, and we'll place you on the curve. The framing-free advantages behind the whole family are covered in Daylight without the carbon.