GB1221352A - Process of forming sandwich panels and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

1,221,352. Laminating process; forms of wood. LUNN LAMINATES Inc. 16 Feb., 1968 [17 Feb., 1967], No. 7732/68. Headings B5L and B5N. A method of making a flat elongated sandwich panel comprises applying a release agent e.g. wax to one face of a flexible sheet 10 e.g. of stainless steel, coating said one face with a gel coat 20 and winding the sheet into a coil, positioning two such coils in spaced aligned relation to one another, so that upon unwinding said coils, the flexible sheet material from one coil will be arranged in spaced parallel relation to the sheet material from the other coil and the coated surfaces of the sheets oppose one another, applying a laminating resin coating to the coated face of one of said flexible sheets prior to depositing on said coated face a plurality of flat core members 52 e.g. of end grain balsa or plywood in abutting relationship and applying a laminating resin coating to the faces of said core members prior to the engagement of said other flexible sheet with said core members, applying pressure to at least one of said flexible sheets for retaining the coated faces thereof in engagement with the core members and maintaining said pressure during at least partial curing of said coating material, and removing the flexible sheets from the panel. An epoxy or unsaturated polyester resin may be used both as the gel coat and as the laminating resin. In a preferred embodiment, a reinforcing fabric e.g. of glass fibres is applied to the gel coat prior to winding the flexible sheet into a coil. An apparatus for use in the method comprises a moulding table surface 42, a pair of channel members 34 positioned on opposite sides of the table surface, a carrying member 38 mounted on said channel members in spaced relation to said table surface for movement thereover, a pair of coils A and B of the gel coat bearing flexible sheet material positioned on said carrying member in spaced relation to one another, means 54 for supporting on said carrying member intermediate said coils a plurality of flat core members 52, means for moving said carrying member along said channel members contemporaneous with the unwinding of said coils in the same direction to arrange the coated faces of said coils in spaced parallel relation to one another and to position the flexible sheet material from one of said coils upon the table surface, means for moving said core members from said carrying member and positioning them in abutting engagement with one another between the coated faces of said flexible sheet material, means e.g. rollers 46 and 48 on said carrying member for applying a resin coating between the coated face of each sheet of flexible material and respective surfaces of each core member, means e.g. roller 60 for applying pressure to the assembly for maintaining the surfaces of said sheets in engagement with the surfaces of said core members.