Composite panels and methods of making composite panels

Claim 1

A composite panel comprising: a core member including: a first substantially planar surface, a second substantially planar surface, said first and second planar surfaces extending substantially parallel to one another at a predetermined distance corresponding to a thickness of said core member with fabrication tolerances between an upper and lower limit, opposed and peripheral narrow sides being disposed therebetween, and at least one cover plate secured to said core member on at least one of said surfaces thereof; at least two peripheral ledges formed at least at one of the said narrow sides of said core member of predetermined widths with negligible tolerances, with one ledge being arranged near said first planar surface, and the other ledge being arranged near said second planar surface, an intermediate zone formed by a compensating groove being provided between said peripheral ledges, the thickness of said ledges between said compensating groove and a respective one of said first and second surfaces being precisely set and resulting in the full fabrication tolerances of the core member being encompassed within the width of the compensating groove; an edge strip for covering said at least one narrow side, said edge strip being formed of a central strip, which corresponds in width to the width of the intermediate zone and corner strips that correspond in width to the width of the ledges and are secured thereover, said central strip being formed by a hardened epoxy resin which fills a gap between said corner strips.