An apparatus for manufacturing cellular laminate structural panels
includes one or more supply stations of a flexible strip material
including folding rollers for sequentially folding the strip material
into cellular structures and feeding the cellular structures into a
conveyor where the cellular structures are held in compression. The
apparatus further includes a laminating station where the folded cellular
structures are laminated to an upper and/or lower sheet material to which
lines of a bonding medium have been applied prior to engagement with the
cellular structures. The folded cellular structures are heated before
engaging the sheet material so as to enhance the bonding of the sheet
material to the cellular structures and subsequent to bonding, the
laminate is passed through a cooling station to set the bonding medium.
Downstream from the laminating station, the laminate passes through a
side edge folding station where edges of the sheet material are folded
over side edges of the laminate to finish the side edges of the laminate
and subsequently the laminate is passed into a cutter for cutting the
continuous laminate into predetermined lengths. Ends of the cut panels
then receive rigid edge strips to fully finish the panel. The method of
the invention includes the steps performed by the components of the
apparatus.