A solid carbon plate is simple. A sandwich panel is smarter when weight and bending stiffness matter. Skin is thin CFRP, core carries shear, distance between skins gives the bending inertia.
Aluminum honeycomb core: highest stiffness-to-weight, great shear, used in floors, radomes, tooling, aerospace skins. But edge close-out is fussy, water ingress is a real risk, bonding area must be designed, not hoped.
Nomex honeycomb: lighter, non-metallic, common in aircraft interiors and antenna structures. More expensive than aluminum honeycomb, less dent-prone than foam.
PMI / PET / PVC foam core: easier to shape, better for curved molds, smoother skin finish, good compression. Lower shear than honeycomb, so don't spec foam where shear load is high.
Balsa core: old-school marine trick, good stiffness and impact, absorbs moisture if not sealed.
Buyer mistakes on quotes:
"Make it lighter" without saying bend load → you get a panel that deflects.
Asking for honeycomb everywhere → pays for tooling and close-out you don't need.
Ignoring core thickness → skin gets thicker to compensate, weight comes back.
Spec this instead: panel size, max deflection, point load or uniform load, temperature, skin layup, core type and thickness, edge close-out, bonding method.
We don't push honeycomb. We match core to the deflection number.
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