JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #91 - August/September 2014 - 63

core material

Honeycomb-based composites: strong, lightweight
materials produced in high volumes at low cost
Wherever you look, you find the hexagonal shape of honeycomb; it is not only pleasing and intriguing (carpet patterns,
decorations, etc.), but also the most functional shape in terms
of contiguous space utilization. Currently, honeycomb made of
aluminium, aramid, Kevlar or PP is used in many industries with
superior results. Axxor provides a honeycomb made of paper as
a modern alternative.

ome things are well kept secrets,
though not always by design.
Hundreds of automotive models
use composite load floors made of a
paper honeycomb core sandwiched
between fibre mats and a binder.
Flush and panelled wood as well as
steel doors also make use of paper
honeycomb cores. Some of the world's
most popular furniture contains paper
honeycomb cores. So why is it that it
is so little known?

but without certain barriers such as
high costs. With material costs around
$7 for a load floor (excluding the
decor), fast throughput (less than 3
minutes) and the ability to use much
of the existing equipment, this is a
logical choice for many applications.

Weight, formability...
Let's go through some of the characteristics of paper honeycomb compo-

A serious modern solution
Much of this is because some of the
highest end applications that were the
early adopters require characteristics
that the material does not yet contain
and that carbon fibre composites are
uniquely positioned to fill. In addition, who would think of paper as a
serious modern solution?
Reality is that modern research shows
that paper honeycomb composites
offer many of the same advantages like
suitability for high volume production

Fig. 1: Axxor paper honeycomb

Robert Boerrigter
President and co-owner
Axxor

sites:
- Weight: a sandwich made of a core
with outer skins may have a density
ranging from 30kg/m3 to 60kg/m3.
This compares very favourably with
some traditional materials.
- Resistance to deflection: the gluing
of each core cell with the laminate
makes for a very strong bond all over
the panel. This in turn creates a sandwich structure with a deflection that
meets typical test criteria. The material can be used for larger surfaces
that have to withstand pressures (like
load floors or cargo spaces), as well as
for smaller areas that do not (like sun
visors, package trays or roof liners).
It is formable during pressing and
secured by the resin, which ensures a
perfect connection between skin and
core; this creates an excellent deflection resistance based on the hexagonal
shape. Because the material has such a
high stiffness, typically no reinforcing
inserts are used anymore.
- Formability: while you would expect
a sandwich of this type to be 2 dimensional and only usable for flat surfaces, Axxor's research and develop-

No91 August - September 2014

/ jec composites magazine 63

JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #91 - August/September 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #91 - August/September 2014