ThermHex Waben, which makes polypropylene (PP) honeycomb cores, and the Fraunhofer Institute, are researching ways to series produce a new composite called the Organosandwich.
According to ThermHex, the Organosandwich, a semi-finished product, consists of two very thin face sheets of thermoplastic fiber composites separated by a thermoplastic honeycomb core. It reportedly provides high stiffness at minimal weight, but without additional ribs for stiffening.
The material can be applied in-line to the honeycomb core in a continuous process and bonded to it, while in subsequent production steps, it can be further processed into components. This includes thermoforming and functionalizing by injection molding using a Fraunhofer process called by TS-moulding, the companies say.
ThermoHex says that it plans to make a total sales volume of 1 million kilograms of Organosandwich and honeycomb cores for this year, and a further annual growth of 10-20% in years to come.
‘This collaboration between ThermHex and Fraunhofer IMWS will provide industry leading changes to honeycomb technology,’ said Mona Boche-Würfel, marketing and communications manager at ThermHex. ‘The technology that will be developed through the exciting collaboration will enable the mass production of almost CO2-neutral sandwich panels within very short cycle times as part of a highly cost-efficient process.’
This story uses material from ThermHex, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
