Suspended ceiling panel edge and rib technology

A surface paneling system including a plurality of surface panels each having a major dimension, a minor dimension and a thickness dimension, a side edge of said panel corresponding to said thickness dimension, a face surface of said panel facing toward a room and being substantially coplanar with a plane defined by said major and minor dimensions, a back surface of said panel being opposite of said face surface,

• wherein each side edge is multifaceted and includes:
• a first surface intersecting said back surface;
• a second surface intersecting said first surface and substantially parallel to said face surface;
• a third surface intersecting said second surface and substantially orthogonal to said face surface;
• and
• a fourth surface intersecting, and being beveled relative to, said third surface;
• wherein said plurality of panels are arranged in an array in which respective third surfaces abut against each other without intervening framing material;
• and
• wherein, at any two such abutting panels, a triangularly grooved reveal is formed by respective said fourth surfaces due to the beveling such that said array of panels' exhibits a grid of said triangularly grooved reveal.

A method of making a surface panel, the method comprising:

• providing a surface panel having a major dimension, a minor dimension and a thickness dimension, a side edge of said panel corresponding to said thickness dimension, a face surface of said panel facing toward a room and being substantially coplanar with a plane defined by said major and minor dimensions, a back surface of said panel being opposite of said face surface;
• and
• removing a portion of material at each corner formed between said side edges and said back surface so as to form a multifaceted edge that includes
• a first surface intersecting said back surface;
• and
• a second surface intersecting said first surface and substantially parallel to said face surface, said second surface being a bearing surface against which a corresponding bearing surface of a ceiling-mounting or wall-mounting arrangement is to abut;
• wherein a predetermined distance is maintained between said second surface and said face surface so as to ensure that said face surface will be said predetermined distance from said bearing surface of said ceiling-mounting or wall-mounting arrangement.