Materials
Metallic Honeycomb Core
Highest stiffness-to-weight, conductive
Highest stiffness-to-weight, conductive
Expanded aluminium, stainless steel, brass and tin steel. Metallic cores give the best shear and compressive strength per unit density of any family, and are the reference the others are measured against. Conductivity is the deciding factor either way — essential for EMI shielding, disqualifying under an RF aperture.
- Density
- 16 – 190 kg/m³ (1.0 – 12.0 pcf)
- Service temp
- to ~175 °C (aluminium); far higher for stainless
Strengths
- Best shear and compressive strength per unit weight
- High thermal conductivity — usable as a heat path
- Conductive, so it shields rather than passes RF
- Lowest cost per unit of structural performance
Watch for
- Galvanic corrosion risk when bonded to carbon-fibre skins
- Cells trap condensate without adequate venting
- Opaque to RF — unsuitable beneath an antenna aperture
Typical applications
Architectural and transport panelsEMI-shielded enclosures and ventsHeat exchangers and flow straightenersStructural flooring
In the catalogue
- Aluminum Honeycomb Core 3003 — 6.4 mm Cell
- Aluminum Honeycomb Core 5052 — 3.2 mm Cell
- Stainless Steel Honeycomb Core SUS304 — 3.2 mm Cell
- Stainless Steel Honeycomb Core SUS316L — 6.4 mm Cell
- Aluminum Acoustic Honeycomb Panel — 13.86 mm Cell
- Lightweight Aluminum Honeycomb Panel — 6.4 mm Cell
- Fiberglass Honeycomb Panel — 3003 Core, 0.6 mm Skins
- EMI Brass Honeycomb Vent — 3.2 mm Cell, 25 mm Thick
- EMI Brass Honeycomb Vent — 3.2 mm Cell, 50 mm Thick
- EMI Steel Honeycomb Vent — 6.4 mm Cell, 25 mm Thick
- EMI Aluminum Honeycomb Vent — 4.8 mm Cell, 12.5 mm Thin