3.2mm Cell 29kg Nomex Aerospace Honeycomb

Unfortunately not. Nomex is supplied to us from the manufacturer in 1200x1200mm sheets and therefore the largest sheet size we can supply is that size. Also, it's worth noting that Nomex honeycomb isn't made in a continuous format; it's made in blocks and then those blocks are cut down to thickness meaning that even direct from a manufacturer, you're unlikely to ever be able to purchase 3m in a continuous length (maximum block sizes at manufacture are usual 2400x1200mm).

Having said this, due to the way that honeycomb cores work, butting multiple sheets up next to each other has practically zero impact on the mechanical properties of the finished panel and so there shouldn't be any reason why you can't just place multiple smaller sheets adjacent to each other.

Unfortunately the nomex isn't suitable for machining and will break up into a fibrous consistency if you tried to cut with a milling tool.  

Nomex has very good compressive strength. In therory there would be no problem using a carbon/Nomex sandwich panel for the type of applications you're suggesting although normally these particular products would generally be single outer skins. A gun stock for example is quite a thick profile and not a classic application for a honeycomb core.

You would just sandwich layers (of carbon fibre, class fibre, aluminium etc.) either side, leaving the honeycomb empty inside. This way the core remains very light giving you a very strong and light finished panel.

In industry, the most common method is a temperature-cured adhesive film, such as XA120, however these adhesive films require pressure and temperature, making them impractical for many users, furthermore, they are less suitable for ultra-light structures - themselves adding 200 or 300gsm to the laminate.

If you are unable to process film adhesives, then the method we recommend for best results is to dip the Nomex in liquid epoxy resin. The reason to do it this way is it limits the resin used to only where the Nomex will contact the sheet rather than the more wasteful method of skimming a layer of resin over the whole panel.

By dipping the Nomex into a resin bath, some resin will bond to the cell walls thus creating a meniscus when laid onto the sheet. This thin fillet of extra resin will help improve the bond strength by increasing the bond surface area.

We would recommend our EL2 Epoxy Laminating Resin for this purpose. Done correctly, we have been able to make very well bonded Nomex cored panels where the adhesive contributes less than 50gsm to the finished panel (per bond line) which is significantly lighter than using an adhesive film.

The Nomex Honeycomb can be cut in a number of different ways, however in our experience we would recommend 2 main methods that work well.

The first and most precise method is to cut the Honeycomb using a sharp Stanley type knife and metal ruler. The blade is used to cut the Nomex cell wall at a time, guided by the metal ruler to give a neat and accurate cut line.

The second method is to use large scissors or shears to quickly and easily cut through the sheet. This is especially useful for the thinner sheets and also where a large amount needs to be cut down. The scissors can cause a slight bit of tearing and crush on the very edge of the sheet so this method works best where the edge of the sheet is trimmed after manufacture.

Other techniques are possible and may well work. However it is key to remember to avoid distorting the cells too much and anything too aggressive may well tear and rip into the cell structure leaving a poor quality edge.

The aerospace grades in 2 and 3mm are more suited to knife cutting whereas the commercial grades are stiffer and so can be cut on a table saw or similar, if required.

Although Nomex Honeycomb naturally has a high level of fire resistance and is self-extinguishing, this specific material as stocked has not been formally certified to any level of fire resistance.

Yes the Nomex honeycomb can be bent around some reasonably tight radii in a single axis curve. It does have a tendency to try and bow in the opposite plane when bent around a tight curve, so it may need a little force to hold it in place while being bonded.

Unfortunately we do not stock any resin film adhesives sometimes used for the honeycomb bonding process

Yes, XA120 Adhesive film can be used with this Nomex honeycomb to make a sandwich panel construction with a variety of skin materials.

The Nomex Honeycomb has a maximum operating temperature of 180°C.

Yes, ET538 would be a good choice for bonding a Nomex honeycomb to carbon sheets.

Yes we can provide a Suppliers Certificate of Conformity on request if you need one.

Nomex Honeycomb's are not compatible with Resin Infusion as the nature of infusion means all the honeycomb cells would fill with resin which would make a very heavy laminate which is usually the opposite of what is desired when using honeycomb cores.

However, there is no problem with using resin infused panels for the skins with the panel being subsequently assembled after the infused part has cured.