Stimulite Honeycomb

Supracor honeycomb is a flexible, fusion-bonded honeycomb. This material has very good shock absorption and stability properties. It’s used many of the products you encounter in your daily life – from the cushioning in athletic shoes, the padding in amusement park attractions and mattresses used by hospitals across the U.S. to ease the pain of burn victims and cancer patients. Stimulite is not affected by bodily fluids, funghi or bacteria, and it’s odeur repellent.
Supracor’s flexible honeycomb is an engineered material produced from a revolutionary technology of fusion-bonding. It is a derivative of the aerospace industry which relies heavily on the structural integrity and optimum strength to weight advantages of rigid honeycomb composites. However, unlike aerospace honeycomb, Supracor Honeycomb is not bonded with adhesives. Instead, a proprietary, fusion-bonding technique is used to produce Supracor Honeycomb from an extensive variety of thermoplastic materials. Because it is fabricated from thermoplastics and manufactured without adhesives, Supracor is the only aerospace-type honeycomb to have “memory,” the ability to repeatedly return to its original shape. As a flexible and stable structure, Supracor Honeycomb is setting new standards for shock absorption in a wide spectrum of applications—from impact-absorbing components in athletic shoes to bumpers on amusement park rides.

Supracor Honeycomb is fabricated from an extensive range of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE’s). These materials combine the properties of rubber and plastics for extended durability and performance. They are noted for their good tensile, tear and compressive strength, resistance to puncture, and their flexibility at low and high temperatures. Supracor honeycomb is a matrix of elongated hexagons forming a complex pattern of alternating single- and double-walled cells. Each cell has eight interior and eight exterior radii. In bonded or sandwiched panel form, i.e., reinforced with facings, “I-beams” are formed at the point where the cell walls meet the facings. The I-beams reinforce the cell walls providing additional stability to the matrix, while encapsulated air pockets act as a cushion to further absorb energy.
Anisotropy: It is the sophisticated architecture of radiated double- and single-walled cells that makes Supracor Honeycomb anisotropic—having three different degrees of resistance or “flex” in its length, width and vertically against the surface. This enables it to absorb energy or impact from different angles.