Lightweight sandwich elements using ThermHex offer exceptional stiffness and strength, thus can be found in diverse components for the building & construction industry. Due to their high level of stability plus shock and water resistance they can easily be used for facade panels, suspended platforms, prefabricated modular rooms, technical doors and more.

ThermHex PP honeycomb core can be found in a growing number of product applications:

• Facade elements,
• Lightweight walls and wall coverings,
• floor coverings and raised floors,
• Sound insulation panels
• scaffold floors,
• swimming pools,
• Prefabricated bathrooms (PODS) and toilets,
• Wet and clean room elements,
• formwork walls,
• industrial doors/gates
• front doors
• furniture (especially for kitchen and bathroom), outdoor furniture

and much more …

REDUCES WEIGHT! Thousands of engineers in the transportation industry around the world are working on projects to make vehicles become lighter while strength characteristics must sustain. Components with unrivalled ThermHex honeycomb core inside offer exactly the requested combination of high-performance mechanical properties and being lightweight while at the same time being an economically wise choice.

Current product applications in the automotive and transportation industries:

• Rigid truck boxes and caravan body parts
• Vehicle floor covers and interior fittings
• Rear parcel shelves & spare wheel cover for cars
• Roof linings
• Casing for sound insulation

and more …

Typical applications:

• Building façades
• Replacement of plywood (concrete casting (shuttering/formwork) panels, scaffolding, …)
• Interior cladding, celling panels
• Fencing / outdoor living
• Flooring panels and underlay for flooring (industrial and residential)
• Prefabricates (swimming pools, bathrooms, …)
• Temporary building structures
• Cleanrooms
• Separation walls for offices
• Interior design
• Floor protection

Key Advantages:

• Weight-reduction per the honeycomb sandwich panel effect
• Cost-reduction per the efficient, in-line integrated production process
• Enhanced rigidity
• Insensitive to moisture and humidity effects (plywood replacement)
• Improved thermal insulation and acoustic performance
• Reduction of C02 emissions and minimal environmental impact

Most popular honeycomb core materials in these applications:

• Polypropylene, PVC, Polycarbonate, …

Most popular sandwich skin materials in these applications

• Polypropylene, PVC, Polycarbonate, Steel, Aluminum, Composites 

Besides in transportation, construction and marine applications ThermHex PP honeycomb core can be found in a growing number of other products. Lately ThermHex PP honeycomb core has been used e.g for wind turbine gondola casing, lightweight packaging solutions and many more. You are in the process of developing an innovative, lightweight application or simply just had a world changing idea for a new sandwich element?

Honeycomb composite elements as part of a ship can reduce weight by tons, helping to reduce fuel consumption and making the ship safer at the same time. Not only in state of the art super yachts honeycomb core panels are increasingly used to meet expected high performance levels.
Boat components made from composite panels with ThermHex PP honeycomb offer strength and durability in addition to significant weight savings.

Current marine applications are e.g.:

• Doors
• Cockpit bottoms
• Internal fittings, furniture & furniture components
• Sound abatement
• Reinforcement of decks & decking panels

and even structural or decorative bulkheads.

Typical Applications: 

Thermoplastic sandwich panel with PP honeycomb core and glass fiber/PP-skins

Advantages:

• Weight savings of up to 80% compared to monolithic material possible
• Major cost reduction
• High bending stiffness
• High compressive and shear strength
• Energy absorbent
• Resistant to moisture, acids and bases
• Easy resource-friendly converting

The PP honeycomb sandwich panel is a semi-finished panel that consists of two thin skin layers of fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites (organosheet) spaced by a  thermoplastic honeycomb core to provide high stiffness at minimal weight, without the need of incorporating additional stiffening ribs as often required for parts based on monolithic organosheet.

The PP honeycomb panel is particularly cost efficient as it is made in a continuous process: the skin layers are applied in-line and welded to the honeycomb core as it is produced.

In further production steps, especially with regards to the automotive industry, this organosandwich can be further processed into final parts and functionalized within very short cycle times. A typical conversion method is compression molding whereas the functionalization can be realized by integrated injection over-molding.

The PP honeycomb panel is ideal for large series production of components for the automotive industry, where the performance, light-weighting and cost-efficiency need to meet together.

More information: https://thermhex.com/

Polypropylene (PP) honeycomb cores are a strong but flexible lightweight material that provides optimal mechanical performance in composite sandwich structures.

ThermHex Waben GmbH produces a broad range of high quality, durable and economic core products with a standard density of 80 kilogram per cubic meter (5.0 Lbs / ft³). For applications with lower requirements to compression strength, ThermHex offers a lighter core with a density of 60 kilogram per cubic meter (4.0 Lbs / ft³).

ThermHex honeycomb cores are available in thicknesses from 3 mm to 28 mm with cell sizes from 3 mm to 9.6 mm. Standard thicknesses are 3.5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 23 and 28 mm.

ThermHex PP honeycomb cores are produced in a continuous in-line production process by extrusion of a polypropylene film, vacuum forming and folding and includes also the lamination of non-woven layers and barrier films onto the core.

The optimized cell size and the specific structure of ThermHex honeycomb cores offer an exceptional surface quality in sandwich components even with very thin skin material layers.

ThermHex material comes in sheets of a maximum width of up to 1.400 mm. Standard panel length is 2.500 mm, while longer sheets are available upon request.

More information: https://thermhex.com/

ThermHex

Folded honeycomb from a continuous thermoplastic sheet

Core material and process

The patented ThermHex honeycomb material and technology allows production from a single continuous thermoplastic sheet by successive in-line operations.

The ThermHex core is produced from a single sheet by a thermoforming,  a folding and a bonding operation. ThermHex honeycombs have closed skin strips, allowing perfect bonding of skins onto the core.

ThermHex technology enables the cost efficient production of honeycomb cores from a wide range of thermoplastic polymers with a large variation in cell size, density and thickness.

Production line

The ThermHex production technology enables the production of themoplastic honeycombs directly from the extruder or from a roll of material.

Inline postprocessing to panels and parts leads to further cost reductions by optimal process integration.

ThermHex Applications

EconCore technologies allow for production of ThermHex honeycomb cores from different thermoplastic polymers via a coil of film or by direct extrusion and enable a direct further processing in-line. The range of polymers include (but is not limited to) PP (Polypropylene), PE (Polyethylene), PS (Polystyrene), PET (Polyethylene terephthalate), PA (Polyamide), PC (Polycarbonate), ABS (Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene), PPS (Polyphenylene sulfide), PEI (Polyetherimide).  

In combination with different skin materials EconCore honeycombs offer a wide range of application possibilities. Low production costs of EconCore honeycombs enable substitution of other honeycomb cores and homogeneous panel materials. In development projects with our customers and licensees we develop panels and parts for packaging, graphical automotive, transportation, building & construction as well as furniture markets.

ThermHex technologies for packaging & graphical applications

100% polypropylene (PP) ThermHex honeycomb boards are especially applicable to reusable plastic transportation boxes and solutions in the logistics sector, such us for example durable and hygienic plastic pallets. Layer pads, dividers, protection panels are complementary applications.

Same honeycomb panels are used in the applications in advertisement – PP boards are printable.

ThermHex PP honeycomb panels are a proven solution, realized by a number of EconCore’s licensees based all over the world, outperforming conventional corrugated plastic boards and PP cup shaped (bubble) panels. The advantages of ThermHex technology over these traditional solutions are very evident:

• bidirectional performance
• enhanced rigidity, flexural strength and compression strength and this at lower weight,
• cost savings due to lower material and energy use while the process is kept fast and continuous,
• very good thermal insulation.

ThermHex technologies for automotive interior parts

Lightweight sandwich panels may be produced directly in-line with the core production by direct in-line lamination of skins onto the ThermHex honeycomb core. Sandwich panels with thermoplastic skins and a ThermHex honeycomb core enable the very cost efficient forming of complex sandwich parts for automotive interior applications. In short, ThermHex technology is an answer to the critical needs of the industry: high performance combined with low weight and minimal cost!

Sandwich panels with ThermHex honeycomb cores are especially suitable for the following automotive interior components:

• luggage compartment floor and spare wheel covers
• door panels / door inserts
• seat back stiffeners and compartment dividers
• cabin floor and underfloor systems
• overhead systems (enhanced sounds absorption with an open cell honeycomb structure)

ThermHex technologies for applications in transportation

The continuously produced honeycomb sandwich panels offer a unique opportunity in the transportation segment, including applications such as delivery truck boxes, pick-up truck boxes, trailers, cladding panels in trucks and vans but also in the railway sector. Higher temperature resistant thermoplastic materials enable meeting the needs related to exterior applications while FST or fire resistant materials are suited for the use in mass transportation segment. Honeycomb panels with various  skin material types (thermoplastics, thermoplastic composites, GRP,  aluminium and steel) offer unbeatable performance and unique cost position. 

The relevant key features of ThermHex honeycomb technology and sandwich panels: 
high mechanical  performance due to the honeycomb structure of the sandwich core

• thermo-formability (complex shapes possible in one shot process, including over-molding options)
• thermal insulation (still air in the small honeycomb cells is a perfect insulator)
• enhanced damping performance
• weight reduction due to the honeycomb sandwich design
• cost reduction due to the in-line integrated, efficient production process

ThermHex technologies for building and construction 

ThermHex honeycombs with PP, steel or aluminium, CPL or HPL skins may be used for example in façade and inner cladding as well as furniture and visual communication applications. These material combinations enable cost efficient sandwich panels with outstanding weight-specific mechanical properties.
The direct in-line lamination of skins onto the continuously produced ThermHex honeycomb core allows for a very cost efficient production of panels for interior, furniture and cladding. The 100% PP panels can also be used as a temporary fencing and concrete casting panels.

PET nonwovens may be laminated onto the ThermHex core to enable processing with thermoset materials.

Honeycombs

EconCore provides technology for cost efficient continuous production of honeycomb cores.

EconCore materials and processes combine aerospace honeycomb technology with efficient packaging production technologies. This enables cost efficient continuous production of paper honeycombs and thermoplastic honeycombs by successive in-line operations for automotive, furniture, building and packaging applications.

The EconCore honeycomb cores provide in these application areas
three key advantages: 

1. Fast and continuous in-line core production and in-line panel lamination
   = Minimal costs
2. Excellent mechanical properties, structure similar to aerospace honeycombs 
   = Minimal weight 
3. Recycable materials (thermoplastic polymers and natural fibres) 
   = Minimal environmental impact

The folded honeycomb concept was developed at the K.U.Leuven in Belgium.

Our technology to continuously produce honeycomb cores combines the excellent mechanical properties and the low weight of aerospace honeycomb with the automated production and low production cost of packaging processes. The folded honeycomb core material (ThermHex) and its cost efficient continuous production processes is protected by granted patent families.

Our core materials are most suitable to replace homogeneous materials and foam cores in the thickness range from 4 mm to 16 mm in cost sensitive high volume applications.

Sandwich technology

Today, the exploitation of the economical advantages of weight reduction has become essential for many industries.

It is well known that the task distribution in sandwich construction enables high stiffness and strength for lightweight panels and parts. Sandwich construction with low cost core materials can not only be more lightweight but also more cost effective, especially because the advancement and automation of production processes results in a reduction of the production cost for lightweight sandwich panels.

The combination of materials to utilize their favorable properties is the basic idea of composites engineering. With a monolithic material, a thickness increase leads to an increase of both weight and material cost of a panel.

Sandwich constructions use the fact that the core of a panel that is loaded in bending does not carry much in-plane stresses and does not represent the surface of the panel. The core can thus be made from a different, more lightweight and/or less expensive material. Sandwich construction takes the different demands on the central layer (core) and surface layers (skins) into account.

The selection and optimisation of the different material layers according to their demands enables to improve the weight and/or cost specific properties of the construction. The potential economic advantage of low cost core materials is as big as the potential weight saving due to low density core materials.

The support of the skins (to prevent relative displacements of the skins out-of-plane and in-plane) is the main task of every sandwich core material, thus a classification should be made based on how this task is fulfilled by the different core materials. Honeycombs are used in aerospace industries since many decades as the preferred core material for very light and strong sandwich panels and structures. From all sandwich core materials honeycombs enable the best mechanical performance per weight, thus they offer the largest potential for material cost savings.

Typical applications

• Railway interior components
• Aircraft interior components
• Panelling in other applications requiring enhanced fire safety

Key advantages

• Cost reduction through EconCore’s continuous production technology
• High mechanical performance, superior to FST/FR grades of foam cores
• Enhanced fire safety (EN45545 (railway) and FAR25.853 (aviation) standards)
• 100% thermoplastic sandwich panel solution upon combination of thermoplastic honeycomb core and thermoplastic skins
• Short cycle and cost-effective processing through compression molding
• Weight reduction, increased fuel efficiency
• The option of in-line integration of skin lamination
• Enhanced acoustics
• Heat resistance
• Eco friendly, minimal environmental impact

Most popular honeycomb core materials in these applications:

PEI, PC-FR/FST, PPS

Most popular sandwich skin materials in these applications:

Thermoplastic composites, thermoset composites