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Hi everyone I have spent way too much time trying to decide between ADV and Anderson Composites (AC) for my bronco hardtop. I thought I had finally decided to go with AC due to their lower price point, however watching ADVs video on their hardtop construction left me with some questions. ADV shows a cross section of their hardtop construction in their video which shows that the core is made out of solid foam sandwiched between the fiberglass.
I decided to email AC about the construction of their top regarding what type of core that they use. I was simply told that they use a "Honeycomb composite core." I will update this thread if they decide to elaborate on the type of composite used. They said that they will no be able to provide a photo of a cross section like ADV did. It could be paper composite just like the OEM top. It could be nomex, thermoplastic, ect. It is hard to know without a company being specific, and I am skeptical when a company shys away from discussing the generals of the construction of their product.
From my understanding of laminates from boats, solid foam cores have fewer incidences of delamination due to the larger surface area for bonding. Foam cores also allow for some flexibility which reduces the chances of stress cracks over the life of the laminate. This flexibility also more resilience to impacts. Foam core is the more expensive option between foam and honeycomb, and is usually considered the superior choice. There is definitely a spectrum of quality regarding the choice of honeycomb used in a laminate, as can be seen by fords choice of a paper composite.
It would be cool if @ADV Fiberglass could chime in as to why they decided to go with a foam core.
Picture of ADVs hardtop cross section
Picture of the OEM hardtop core (paper composite)
I decided to email AC about the construction of their top regarding what type of core that they use. I was simply told that they use a "Honeycomb composite core." I will update this thread if they decide to elaborate on the type of composite used. They said that they will no be able to provide a photo of a cross section like ADV did. It could be paper composite just like the OEM top. It could be nomex, thermoplastic, ect. It is hard to know without a company being specific, and I am skeptical when a company shys away from discussing the generals of the construction of their product.
From my understanding of laminates from boats, solid foam cores have fewer incidences of delamination due to the larger surface area for bonding. Foam cores also allow for some flexibility which reduces the chances of stress cracks over the life of the laminate. This flexibility also more resilience to impacts. Foam core is the more expensive option between foam and honeycomb, and is usually considered the superior choice. There is definitely a spectrum of quality regarding the choice of honeycomb used in a laminate, as can be seen by fords choice of a paper composite.
It would be cool if @ADV Fiberglass could chime in as to why they decided to go with a foam core.
Picture of ADVs hardtop cross section
Picture of the OEM hardtop core (paper composite)
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