when using a core material like soric has anyone ever tried cutting holes in the sheet to create a grid pattern?

thats pretty annoying. you say reduce but not remove completely?

You can reduce and in some cases remove the shadow by putting down a heavier cloth say 450grm before the Soric or filling the holes in the Soric with cloth to the same thickness but that adds weight and sort of defeats the objective really. Unfortunately the shadow is something you have to live with. I only really do it that way on race car parts where weight saving is the main objective. Usually the panels are covered in sponsorship logos anyway.

Warren

Carbon Copies Ltd

i see

ahh cool. damn, im in web design. missed out on a job haha

Carbon Copies Ltd

It depends on what you classify as "structural strength", by removing the core in areas you are reducing the strength in that area from a bending aspect as you are reducing the effective depth of the section, you will also reduce the stiffness/increase the deflection of that area too. BUT as mentioned, you gain a hard spot for mounting points or impact areas as you create a thicker solid laminate so better bearing and point load distribution, also by joining the upper and lower layers between the core you can increase the torsional stiffness of the part with a bit of cleaver thinking