Honeycomb Core: The Ultimate Lightweight Structure

Honeycomb core is the industry standard for high-performance structural components and composite sandwich panels, delivering exceptional strength-to-weight ratio, consistency and durability.

The Gill Corporation has been a leader in honeycomb to aerospace, transportation, rail and industrial markets for decades.

We began incorporating aluminum honeycomb as the structural core material for composite sandwich panels in the 1950s – a major advancement over balsa wood as a core material.

Aluminum honeycomb capability at TGC traces to 1956, when it was produced by the supplier we acquired in 2001, now known as The Gill Corporation – Maryland.

This acquisition was part of the company’s strategic vertical integration plans.  Those plans would go on to include prepreg manufacturing, multi-opening presses for sandwich curing processes and a family of honeycomb core types:

• 1956: Aluminum 5052/5056 in DURA-CORE®, PAA-CORE® or commercial grade
• 1989: Meta-aramid (Gillcore® HA/HD), non-metallic, fire resistant
• 2004: Para-aramid (Gillcore® HK), lighter weight non-metallic
• 2014: Fiberglass (Gillcore® HF) for superior moisture resistance

Honeycomb core is supplied to customers in block and slice forms, machined on 5- and 6-axis CNC equipment into detailed parts and as large, complex bonded assemblies.

Honeycomb is the material of choice throughout aircraft, space vehicles, trains, ships, industrial and transportation.

Core can be found inside aircraft as stowage bins, floors and sidewalls; outside aircraft in moveable flight control surfaces and engine nacelles; and in transportation as energy absorption devices for collisions and nuclear waste containers.