Other Market Areas
Lightweight Honeycomb Sandwich Panel technology and Composite Components are increasingly finding new markets with application as diverse as ticket barriers, access ramps, backing structures for the restoration and conservation industry, energy absorbing structures and flat panels for use as vacuum tables in cutting/machining industries.
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Ticket Barriers |
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Conservation & Restoration |
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Access Ramps |
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Flat Tables |
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Energy Absorption Structures |
Ticket Barriers
Ticket Barriers may appear a somewhat curious use for Honeycomb Sandwich Panel technology. However, the application demands an exceptionally robust solution and one that meets strict health and safety requirements, is user friendly and complies with Fire, Smoke and Toxicity regulations. Technical Resin Bonders manufacture the lightweight Paddles which are finished with a hard wearing, yet relatively soft Polyurethane polymer, specially formulated for this application.
Conservation & Restoration
Cellite lightweight honeycomb panels are flat, low weight, high strength and rigid, these qualities make them an ideal mount for heavy items such as mosaics, large textiles, showcases, linings and backings for paintings. By using various techniques multiple panels can be joined to form large supporting structures.
Favoured by museums and conservators, Cellite 620 honeycomb sandwich panels with fibre skins are ideal for use in areas of protection and restoration. They provide a very flat, non corrosive surface that is virtually chemically inert with no chemical out gassing, which prevents contamination of the product that it supports.
Royal Historic Palace – Hampton Court
The roundels at Hampton Court date from the 16th century and were commissioned by Cardinal Wolsey and are examples of the earliest Renaissance sculpture in England. However there are concerns regarding significant deterioration and decay. Until restoration work is undertaken, the roundels needed protecting against the worst of the winter weather.
Technical Resin Bonders solution was to design and build a series of cover assemblies, manufactured using the Cellite fibre skin honeycomb sandwich panel. These were painted to match the walls and included a laminated photograph of the roundel. The lightweight structures needed only the minimum amount of fixing into position.
Colchester Roman Circus
In 2004 the very first Roman Circus in the UK was discovered at Colchester Abbeyfields. To celebrate this unique find, a project to make a large mosaic depicting Roman chariot racing was launched by the Colchester Archaeological Trust with the aid of a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The finished Mosaic would be heavy and measure over 20 foot by 10 foot. Therefore it would need to be carefully supported.
Cellite 620 Aluminium Honeycomb Sandwich Panels with high strength woven glass fibre epoxy skins were particularly chosen as they are rigid, flat and durable, making them ideal for this particular type of application.
Access ramps
Since the introduction of the Disability Discrimination Act service providers have been under a duty to allow disabled people access to their services. Lightweight aluminium honeycomb ramp assemblies enable companies to meet this strict requirement, whether it is access to public buildings, public service vehicles or taxis.
Flat Tables
Cellite Honeycomb Sandwich Panels can be manufactured to achieve exceptional flatness whilst retaining the core values of high rigidity and low weight. These feature benefits are ideal for Vacuum Tables, Print Bases and Machine Work Centres.
Cellite Vacuum Tables are particularly manufactured for use on CNC cutting, shaping and machining work centres. They provide a very flat, rigid, yet lightweight base upon which material or components can be secured, by means of vacuum, during the cutting or machining operation. The Tables includes a sturdy frame made from extruded aluminium box section and incorporates a specially drilled aluminium core to allow for internal vacuum. A sacrificial top membrane can be included if required.
Energy Absorption Structures
The legs of the Apollo moon-landing module contained honeycomb for energy absorption as a contingency against a hard landing. Since that time aluminium honeycomb has been developed for applications such as nose boxes of racing car which help protect the drivers feet and legs in the event of a front impact, to huge protection pads used when re-fuelling nuclear power station and nuclear powered submarines. Commonly it is employed in road and rail transport, being used in rail vehicle buffers and on some high performance road cars. Recent safety parameters have resulted in aluminium honeycomb being the ideal material for use in testing the crash-worthiness of automotives.
Other examples include:
• Tooling boards
• Temporary structures