Traditionally, solid rubber tires have given a rough ride, generated too much heat, and were difficult to repair ( let's say a piece gets blown off). Fortunately, the design of the honeycomb structure enabled the manufactures to overcome some of these technical hurdles.
Companies, such as Resilient Technologies and Michelin have been creating a brand new breed of honeycomb tire that can not go flat, won’t pop, and still provides suspension. To survive these new conditions the tire had to be created with the proper honeycomb geometry.
Honeycomb Tire Geometry
The tire has a honeycomb geometry. What made this design successful was proper control of the honeycomb’s: density, thickness and internal angles.
Honeycomb internal angle - the proper internal angleing can increase the vertical stiffness of the tire without changing the weight, which also helps out the tire’s dynamic properties and fuel efficiency.
Honeycomb Density - a decrease or increase in the cell length and density was able to significantly reduce internal stresses
Honeycomb Thickness - Both the length and thickness of the honeycomb could reduce the magnitude of contact pressure with proper tuning. The end result was a more even distribution of load between the tire and the road.
If you're into honeycomb tires and more honeycomb inspired designs be sure to explore all of the products inspired by this wonderful geometrical structure.