Method and apparatus for acoustic perforation of core sandwich panels

A method for manufacturing a sandwich panel, the method comprising the steps of:

• placing or attaching at least one face sheet against edges of cell walls of a honeycomb core, with the face sheet sandwiched between the honeycomb core and a surfacer coating applied to the face sheet;
• curing the face sheet, the honeycomb core, and the surfacer coating so that variations due to pressure by the honeycomb core causes a visible pattern in the surfacer coating corresponding to locations of the cell walls;
• transmitting to a processor an image, from an imaging device comprising a camera or an X-ray device, of the surfacer after curing thereof;
• detecting, with the processor, locations of the cell walls of the honeycomb core based on at least one of color, hue, or brightness in the image;
• generating or altering, with the processor, a perforation pattern to be applied to the face sheet based on the detected locations of the cell walls, such that any perforations of the perforation pattern corresponding in location with the cell walls is omitted from or relocated within the generated or altered perforation pattern;
• and
• commanding a perforation device to perforate the face sheet in locations where the cell walls are not located, based on the generated or altered perforation pattern.