Cartone alveolare

Like sandwich panels that are filled with synthetic foam, honeycomb boards combine two extremely positive material attributes: they are lightweight but still very sturdy. Just how sturdy the honeycomb boards are can be seen by the following measuring result: a honeycomb board with paperboard top and bottom layers (instead of paper) and measuring 20 x 500 x 800 mm, when supported around all four sides, will only give way in the amount of 6 mm when a 100 kilo weight is placed in its centre. The same board is pressure resistant up to a load 35 to 40 tons per square metre. In other words: a 10 x 10 centimetre large area can withstand a load of 350 to 400 kg.

Honeycomb boards were originally used as a material for producing disposable pallets or as fillers for doors with honeycomb cores. We have them on offer as a building material for trade shows and exhibitions, for making furniture or Wendy houses for children, as a lightweight and easy to work with backdrop material for stage construction for film, theatre or television, and as a carrier board that can be covered with drawings, photographs, placards etc., etc., etc...

The various honeycomb boards can be cut by means of a circular saw, a fret saw or a coping saw. Alternatively, the boards can be cut to size by us (see CUSTOM CUTTING SERVICE). The paper-covered versions even allow you to cut circular lines while only using a blade: freehand or with the use of a straight edge, hold the blade flat as you pull it through the material.

Folding: folding the paper or the paperboard-covered versions has different levels of difficulty. In the case of the paper-covered version, a folding bone should be used to weaken one side of the board and it should then be bent over an edge. This produces a rounded edge on the outside while on the inside the cover paper is crinkled. The version with paperboard cover layers requires that a strip of one of the layers be removed from the side to be folded.

Stamping: an outline of the required design should be cut into one side of the panel with a blade to the depth you require for your stamping. A hammer and piece of wood are then used to pound down the outlined area. This process will only function in the case of small areas or, alternatively, when done in a series of smaller steps because the boards, as described above, are extremely pressure resistant.

Holes can be cut in the honeycomb board by means of a drill or a stylus. If the idea is to hang the board, we recommend that you put a piece of tube or a rolled up piece of paperboard in the hole.

Bonding: the paperboard covered boards can be two-dimensionally glued by means of spray glue, X-FILM DX, or TESA ALL-PURPOSE GLUE (Technicoll). When gluing an edge at a right angle you should not attempt to simply butt the board up against the panel to be joined because the “hollow” board provides very little gluing surface. Bonding such angles is best done by folding the board and gluing the resulting surface. Butt joints can be made as follows: a peg should be left sticking out of one side of the first board by means of cutting the rest away and this peg should then shoved into a gap that has been made in the second board (cut out or only pounded in). If necessary, the joint should be secured with a tack.

The board version that is covered with paperboard can also be joined by means of a nut and screw. For this method, the largest possible washer should be used. A butt joint can be created through the screwing on of a cardboard angle bracket.

Edge protection: a PVC U-CHANNEL STRIP or a KRAFT PAPER WET ADHESIVE TAPE can be used to protect the edges. LAMINATED PAPER TUBES can be used as well for joining or closing off work. Properly sized wood mouldings can be glued into the edges of the honeycomb board version with the paperboard covers. In doing this, the honeycomb material should be removed from the edge area with a cutter, then glue (e.g. PATTEX) should be applied to the inside of the remaining cover layers and the wood moulding itself. After the glue has dried, the moulding should then be carefully pounded into the space between the cover layers.

Lamination: the boards can be glued onto or laminated with two-sided X-film, spray glue, TESA ALL-PURPOSE GLUE (Technicoll) or paste. When gluing something onto the paper-covered version of the honeycomb board, the honeycomb texture will show through if the affixed material is a thin one; the paperboard-covered version, however, will be smooth. Affixing a similar material to the back of a board as a counter to any tension resulting from the material having been affixed to the front side is definitely recommended if it is very important that the board remains absolutely flat for its application.