joining together honeycomb panels

[edoardo777]

Dear all,

I am brand new into the world of honeycomb, as generally
I am assigned to other engineering tasks. I have just a little experience with carbon fiber parts and their manufacturing process.

We have to realise the envelope for a filed deployable equipment and the team proposed "light and rigid honeycomb". We are generally producing our envelopes in machined, welded or bolted metal.

so.. one of the questions we had was how to combine together honeycomb materials panels. From the forum I read that they are generally glued together. Are there other methods for combining together the panels?

Are there reference books/pages?

thanks a lot in advance to everybody and sorry for the naive question!
Edo

 

[Compositepro]

Hexcel has useful technical info on their website. Usually film adhesives are used to bond core to facesheets, but anything is possible. There have been planes made from stainless steel honeycomb brazed to stainless skins.

 

[RPstress]

As 'pro says, the Hexcel guides are good.

Are you interested in how to make the basic sandwich panel (how to attach the skins to the core) or how to join the panels together? (The Hexcel guides cover both, to a degree.)

It is possible to buy ready-manufactured honeycomb or foam sandwich panels, which can then be cut up and assembled into a structure.

http://www.hexcel.com/NR/rdonlyres/...-CC15967A4B05/0/4547_Sandwich_Fabrication.pdf

http://www.hexcel.com/NR/rdonlyres/...B3-7EFF685966D2/0/7586_HexWeb_Sand_Design.pdf

http://www.diabgroup.com/europe/literature/e_lit_man.html

 

[MikeHalloran]

Many people are in the business of producing prefab military shelters, often of honeycomb. Some are on this list:

http://www.army-technology.com/contractors/field/

If a prefab unit is available in the size you need, then all you need to learn is how to modify it, not how to build it.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[edoardo777]

hello and thanks a lot for your indications to a novice

>> to RPstress:
yes, I would like to buy ready-manufactured panels, and then just join them together.
>> and Mike:
as of above, well I will need most likely to modify (resize) the panels, and not only to join them together, unless I find a custom-sized panels producers

thanks a lot again,
Edo

 

[MikeHalloran]

I don't think I've ever seen honeycomb panels with edges for sale individually. I think the reason is that most producers join edges with an extruded double angle, and bond the honeycomb face panels directly into the grooves in the edge angle. That's much lighter than putting channel edges on each panel and then mechanically fastening the panel edges to each other somehow.

I.e., I think you will end up dealing with, or becoming, a custom box producer.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[PanelGuy]

There are several companies with systems and extrusions depending on the type of panels. The problem is that you can by the panels, and extrusions, or tool up your own extrusions and own the rights to them...either way somone is on the hook for a couple grand in tooling and a minimum run of aluminum.

Extrusions can be bonded externally or internally. the latter most likely involves some edge machining. Elsewise I have also designed systems with internal framing that is joined together after sizing. There are a ton of adhesives for this depending on your needs and peed.

Put this in your search engine "ingenuity integrity passion" and click the first hit. You will find a company that might be able to help. There are some examples of closeouts under the "Custom Design" heading but the Hexcel manuals are great. Scribd.com has the essential ones available in pdf.