So what is this paper honeycomb....??
Every time i talk to someone i know or i've just and i'm asked the question, 'what do u do Abhijeet?' n i say i deal with paper honeycomb the one and only question i'm met wit, in one form or the other, is..."wats that???" n then its followed by me explaining "it is an eco-friendly replacement to plywood/thermocole etc. A paper product that's really strong in compression and X Y Z...." facts like a paper pallet can carry over one tonne of load makes for some interesting listening but the understanding is more or less missing from the scene!
i dont blame them for looking/sounding absolutely puzzled cuz its somethin most of us havent seen before... same with me wen i first saw it a few years ago. so here's somethin that i can call - "paper honeycomb for the starters".
Paper honecyomb, as the name suggests, is a honeycomb-like structure made out of paper. Now you may ask... "what in the world is a 'honeycomb like' structure?" Well, honeycomb is a hexagonal grid that honeybees make and live in. in there case its fairly haphazard and uneven in structure but when we replicate it for our use, its a flat, hexagonal grid.
So why do we make that out of paper?
Because man has learnt over time and experience with structures that there's something special about hexagons. Equal sized hexagons can be put together next to each other without any gaps between them. If u did the same with circles, you'll have lotsa gaps. Now you may say even squares or rectangles come together without gaps. Yes they do. In case of a hexagon it covers more area for a given perimeter than a square/rectangle. So, hexagon matches the requirement of efficiency by covering more area for its perimeter and also brings in strength by an interlocked grid with no gaps. why do the gaps matter so much? It affects the strength. When there's a gap. Also the efficiency drops as more material is used up to create lesser area.
Paper, right? Why paper though?
First of all, Its not only paper that makes honeycomb. Aluminum, FRP, even steel is used to make honeycomb. In case of paper honeycomb, it makes for efficient replacement of plywood and block boards in flat panel furniture, thermocole and foam based packaging material, both in terms of adequate strength as well as economically.
Paper as a material, is a very dynamic material. I say this because it has some fantastic uses beyond just a material to write on. Today we see paper being used for packaging (carton boxes), we use tissue paper to clean a lot of our mess, paper cups, paper plates, etc are extremely common too. Paper, though made of wood, is more eco-friendly than wood as it decomposes much faster. Kraft paper is more so because it has much lesser chemical content than the regular white papers we use to write and print on. In fact, in India, Kraft paper is made of 100% recycled material and No trees are being cut to make this paper. Paper, since it has been around for ver centuries now, has a lot of materials that work well with it. For example, a lot of adhesives have been developed to stick it to various other materials, a lot of coatings have been developed to make it fire resistant, water repellant, stronger, weaker, brittle, etc. This allows one to do a lot without having to invent too much to get the product going. Paper, is not as expensive as metals or even wood so it makes economical sense too. So that explains why paper. In fact, paper being a safe material to work with, i.e., it doesn’t emit anything harmful and it withstands a vast temperature range too. Paper needs care because it is hygroscopic though.
So…. honeycomb made out of paper! And how in the world is it so strong.
To explain this, let me first mention that a lot of what we see isn’t exactly the only way to see it. I mean, We’ve seen glass breaking every now and then. We have always handled glass as a fragile item. Yet, glass for those who know it, is one of the hardest materials known to man. I was honestly stunned to hear that when I first did. Now, walk down a busy street in a city like Bangalore or Delhi or Bombay and u’ll see lots of buildings that are only glass all around. I watched these buildings being put together and realize that there are almost no walls. The exterior is just glass, glass and more glass. A little bit of aluminum cladding added to taste and the interiors are all plug and play materials used to make partitions, furniture etc. So in effect, glass has replaced brick and mortar! So much for ‘fragile’ item. J Again, glass is fragile and it is strong depending on what fashion it is used in. Ditto with paper. Paper honeycomb on one hand can be torn as easily as a sheet of paper and on the other, carry tonnes of uniformly distributed load.
