Hi I have designed and specified a panel system that has to be light with a high impact resistance and would welcome your comments on it's strength to cost and time, i.e if it's to belt and braces when something half the price would be 80% as strong

It's a double curved panel so the impact side is in compression

Externally gel coat mixed with talc filler - increased compression and impact resistance
Carbon kevlar mix fibre twill -45 degree +45 degree
Aluminium hex core 30mm
Carbon fibre twill

and or

Externally gel coat mixed with talc filler - increased compression and impact resistance
Diolen
End grain pro balsa 50mm
CSM

I intend to make a GRP female mold lay it up with vacuum bagging
My questions are

Do you glue the core to the inner/outer layer or piece it together when wet
 
The panels are sealed around the perimeter the core can't move anywhere ??

How do you accurately cut the hex core ?


Thanks 

Also does anyone know of any small workshopds that carry out this type of construction as it might be easier to just get the panels made ?

Hi congellous,

It's hard to give you any feedback on the suitability of either of these constructions without knowing what the part is, what the 'impact' loads are that it will encounter and how important, if at all, weight is, in the list of priorities. Made correctly, either of these constructions would certainly function but whether they're ideal or whether something far simpler would be adequate I have no way of knowing.

You've posted this is the Easy Composites technical support forum but I'm not clear on whether you did want us to respond to you with product suggestions and prices or whether you intended a more general discussion with other board members (if so I'll hapily move this thread over to the general Talk Composites forum and hand over to our members).

Best regards, Matt

Matt Statham
Easy Composites / Carbon Mods - Technical Sales

After several test panels I have gone with framing the outside of the panel with end grain balsa to allow for fixings with Aluminum hex core

With weight, stiffness and impact resistance all being important I am toying with the idea of using a double sandwich as my 2.5 mm build up in Kevlar and Diolen feels to flexible as an outside layer

Any suggestions for this, I'm thinking 2 layers kevlar both sides on a 2.5mm coremat  as the outer shell then the hexcore etc