Patent ID: 8512505

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a laminate resin panel with sufficient structural properties for use as a building component in an architectural design environment, the resin panel having a thin or brittle veneer layer, such that the decorative resin panel is translucent, and such that the veneer layer is not substantially damaged during the laminating process, the method comprising: positioning an at least partially translucent veneer layer comprising a thin, veneer of naturally-occurring material reinforced by a backing layer about one or more at least partially translucent first resin layers having a thickness between about one-sixteenth ( 1/16) of an inch and about one-half (½) of an inch; wherein: the at least partially translucent veneer layer has a thickness of about one thirty-second ( 1/32) of an inch; and the backing layer comprises a different material than the thin, veneer of naturally-occurring material; positioning one or more at least partially translucent second resin layers having a thickness between about one-sixteenth ( 1/16) of an inch and about one-half (½) of an inch about the translucent veneer layer, such that at least the one or more first resin layers, the one or more second resin layers, and the at least partially translucent veneer layer form a laminate assembly with opposing viewable outer surfaces defined by the one or more first resin layers and the one or more second resin layers; and laminating the laminate assembly together with heat and pressure such that the one or more first resin layers adhere to the outer surface of the veneer of naturally-occurring material and the one or more second resin layers adhere to the outer surface of the translucent backing layer; wherein: the resulting combination is at least partially translucent; and the one or more first resin layers and the one or more second resin layers provide the laminate resin panel with sufficient structural properties for use as a building component in an architectural design environment.