Aluminum honeycomb core expansion

Julong Honeycomb is a Chinese producer of aluminum honeycomb. The material is available in expanded and unexpanded variants for use in a variety of industries, including rail, maritime, automotive, architectural, and construction.

The production of aluminum honeycomb begins with a roll of aluminum foil that is printed with adhesive glue lines, cut to size, layered, and pressed to form a block of honeycomb. These blocks can then be split into slices and enlarged to finish the procedure. Our Chongqing facility employs two methods of aluminum honeycomb expansion: manual and machine.

The expansion process is determined by the type and size of the honeycomb as well as the quantity required.

Unexpanded honeycomb is easier and less expensive to transport, but it must be expanded before use. It's worth mentioning that when you stretch the honeycomb, the width of the honeycomb slice shrinks by around one-third; therefore, movable pegs are essential for ensuring it's stretched evenly and correctly.

There are two primary methods of growth:

Manual enlargement

In smaller quantities, thin slices of aluminum honeycomb or honeycomb with high cell sizes (1" and 34") can generally be expanded manually "by hand," as specialized equipment is not necessary to finish the process.

Two men, for example, are wearing cut-resistant gloves and gripping opposite ends of the unexpanded core. The core is pulled until the honeycomb reaches an even hexagonal shape.

Julong Honeycomb can provide a simple hand-expanding tool with two pullers made by fitting movable pins onto rails when larger sheets need to be expanded. At both ends, the pins are pushed through the last few end rows of the core. One rail is clamped to a table, while the other is pulled to stretch the material.

Expansion of the Machine

When smaller cell sizes, higher densities, or thicker sheets of honeycomb in larger quantities need to be expanded, automated expansion tables are used. The amount of force necessary to expand the parts exceeds the capacity of the manual approach. To supply adequate force to expand the cells in a regular and even manner, automated equipment is required.

Aluminum honeycomb can be purchased from Julong Honeycomb in the form of blocks, unexpanded slices, and expanded sheets. If you are thinking about buying an unexpanded honeycomb, Julongcan offers technical guidance on the various expansion procedures.

Contact us to learn more about the aluminum honeycomb expansion process or our aluminum honeycomb product line. Honeycomb core can also be purchased online from the Julong website in both expanded and unexpanded editions.