NIDA Core

General Composites Discussions Products Talk
#1

Just when I thought I had things figured I came across NIDA core. Would this be a suitable core for a one off hood or should I just stick with Nomex. It is quite a bit cheaper and only slightly heavier than the Nomex but will it conform to the gentle curves of a hood? Herman stated in another thread that it has a lower shear modulus but I don’t know if this would be an issue on something like a hood. I was looking at either 1/2" Nomex which I think is a little overkill or 10mm NIDA. Any thoughts or experience with it? Thanks for the help.

DJ

#2

I suppose my main concern with the PP core would be heat in this application. 230F HDT seems like it would be borderline given where the component is going to live its life, but I could be wrong.

#3

I did think about that a bit but if the temps get that hot them I am also screwed a bit with the resin Tg. I was going to use US Composites 635 thin but maybe that is a bad choice too. Oh oh.

#4

I had to use it for a job and I hated every minute of it. It can handle 120deg or 3bar pressure but not both. If you aren’t using an autoclave I can see it being useful as you can thermo form it slightly.

#5

I really like the Nida Core samples i have here. They actually make about 12 different core materials. The only core material i see here that would work well for a hood laminate is core mat. The other core materials are too thick for a hood. Plus they are that plastic material.

Divini Cell has a foam core that is around 5mm thickness. it will contour to shapes

#6

Hmmm, that’s about enough to scare anyone away.

Do you mean the MatLine bluker?
http://nida-core.com/english/nidaprod_matline.htm
Wouldn’t that soak with resin and make things heavy? I looked at foam core but it seemed heavy but maybe I’m being too picky and just need to choose. Do you think 5mm would be thick enough to stiffen a hood? If that were the case I found a Canadian supplier for Core-Cell and 6mm foam would be about the same weight as 1/2" HC. My original plan was to use 1/2" Nomex HC in the bulk of the “flat” parts of the hood. There is a hump but I am making part of it removable to change for racing so it won’t have any core material.

#7

Matline product is different. the material i am speaking of is a thin core material that is perforated. It comes in 1mm, 2mm, 3mm thiknesses. It will soak up resin/saturate. I probably wouldn’t use it for an entire underhood structure but a smaller area maybe 3ft x 3ft in the center of the hood, underneath.

Rohacell makes a core “IG” that can be used for vacuum infusion.

#8

i will eventually be in a similar situation to the op and wonder if they made their decision yet and if so what and why those choose it?

#9

This thread made me think a bit more about the heat. Through a bit of online research I found underhood temps can get up to the 215 range. A little too close for my comfort using a NIDA product. After stewing on it and other types of core I decied to just stick with the Nomex HC. At the same time I have switched to using VE resing instead of Epoxy.

#10

There are a few alternatives to honeycomb that might work. I know corecel and rohacel are both available in thin sections (3mm?) and both have heat formable versions. They are Both easy to form and will take the heat. The corecel is from gurit and directly available from the usa so shipping is less than the rohacel. Both good products though.

#11

thank you frost :slight_smile: I will probably be ordering the coreacell.

#12

I talked to the Rohacell rep once, he said their core comes in 3mm, 4mm, 5mm and thickness and so on.

Good to know all their stuff came from overseas.