Continuously Produced Honeycomb Sandwich Materials for Automotive Applications

The demands for automotive interior and exterior panels request an optimal combination of materials and cost efficient production processes. Mechanical and acoustical requirements and a weight target result today often in the selection of a sandwich design with a cost efficient and recyclable core material. Two new cost efficient honeycomb materials and their continuous production processes have been developed at the K.U.Leuven. These materials and production methods enable an automated in-line production of paper and polypropylene (PP) based honeycombs for automotive sandwich panels and parts. The production concepts, possible material combinations and basic material properties for automotive sandwich parts are presented.