Has anyone used eps as core material in a composite lamination? I was thinking a higher density eps would be easy cut to 1/16-1/8" thickness.
Joe
yes you can cut it with thin guage wire but those thicknesses would be tricky…maybe 3/16 or higher…the hotter the wire the more it melts its surroundings
EPS could be used at about a 4# density for coring lamintes. I’ve actually seen some stuff from Canada that could be used, actually looked awesome but the sizing wasn’t right. That was probably 20 years ago too. There are some other products like this coming around but as of right now we still haven’t seen the right stuff available. Under 4# density won’t give you adaquate physicals.
Yes that could work fine and it could also be put through a thickness planer. It is Polyurethane foam like Clark blanks maybe a slight different formula and heavier density.
I should have said… It can work fine, but it is Polyurethane foam and is not as good as other cores for composites. PVC or SAN foams will hold up better in the long run.
hey d…i’d be concerned with bending it…but might be worth a looksee
If you are talking about the last-a-foam you can bend it fairly easily with a heat gun. Be carefull not to heat it up too much, if I recall correctly you only need a bit more than 200 degrees farenheit. Same as with corecell and I’m pretty sure divinicell as well.
I have used both corecell and last-a-foam for kiteboards. The last-a-foam is inferior for the same weight, but I bet the 8 pound density in 1/8" would work pretty well for a sandwich core. Make sure you are carefull tovacuum all the dust off the last-a-foam before you apply resin.
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hey d…i’d be concerned with bending it…but might be worth a looksee
Last-a-foam is nice stuff… we’ve used it. They have a number of products and I would agree that the 8# density at 1/4 " or less would be nice.
8# density sounded heavy when I read it but after a search of balsa density that came up with a range of 5-20# for balsa it sounds more in the ballpark.
Do you know how do they ship this?
can it be rolled up like d-cell or do you pay for a 24"x114" box?
Be neat to try… Definitely cheaper then D-Cell or the honeycomb nomex.