ThermHex and PANEELtec collaboration results in improved performance

PANEELtec placed its first order of ThermHex honeycomb cores in 2012. Since then, the partnership has developed with Duo-Core, which consists of a ThermHex honeycomb core and a foam core, one of the most requested products.

By employing ThermHex’s thermoplastic honeycomb core PANEELtec has reduced the weight by 10 per cent and improved the properties of the sandwich panels used in major commercial vehicle and trailer manufacturers in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.

The panels are also mechanically stronger, with a 20mm sheet thickness now able to be deployed with honeycomb without issue. Under mechanical load, the cells of the former material foam fracture, so that bubbles formed under the GRP face sheets.

With a 20mm full honeycomb panel, this issue no longer exists, but this panel also has no insulating effect. If both insulation and mechanical strength is required, the Duo-Core, or the Triple-Core has proven to be the best choice.

The combination of insulation and mechanical strength in PANEELtec’s Duo-Core is achieved by adding a foam core to a 3.5mm honeycomb core. The result is a panel wherein the mechanical load dissipates onto the surface and thus the cells of the foam remain intact. These properties are further enhanced with Triple-Core product, which also makes use of the honeycomb technology.

Jürgen Schmidt, CEO of PANEELtec, said: “Every gramme of weight we can remove from a trailer, mobile home or boat will save energy and money. With ThermHex honeycomb cores in our Duo-Core panels we achieve weight savings of 10 per cent, and this is money in the pocket of our customers and good for the environment. It also gives other benefits such as firmness, durability and strength.“

Dr Jochen Pflug, CEO of ThermHex Waben, added: “The addtional compression-resistant honeycomb core allows to reduce the skin thickness and the foam core density. We are pleased to enable PANEELtec to offer such innovative panels to the market.“

ThermHex’s polypropylene honeycomb cores are used wherever an optimum strength to weight ratio is required. This includes the automotive, maritime, interior and furniture, building and construction, renewables, swimming pools, and other industries.

ThermHex Waben GmbH started its production in 2010 and is a licensee of EconCore NV (Belgium), the technology leader for cost-efficient sandwich material production technologies.