About Foam Fabricating and Foam Fabricating Services Including: Closed-Cell Foam,
Foam, Foam
Cushions, Foam Cutting, Foam Padding, Open-Cell Foam, Polyethylene
Foam & Polyurethane
Foam.
Foam fabricating is the manufacturing of a lightweight, versatile, polymer-based material. The material, such as plastic or polyurethane, is "frothed up" while in a molten state and then cooled, which fills the material with countless little bubbles, giving it an appearance similar to a sponge. Foam fabricators classify their product by two categories: open-cell foam and closed-cell foam. Closed-cell foam contains foam cells which are sealed, or "closed" and from one another. This foam is very dense and has high compressive strength. Because the cells are not broken in this foam and gas and liquid molecules do not freely travel from cell to cell, the cells expand when exposed to heated gas. The expansion fills the material, making closed cell foam an excellent heat insulator. Open-cell foams are lightweight, spongy, soft foams in which the cell walls or surfaces of the bubbles are broken and air fills all of the spaces in the material. This makes the foam soft and weak; as a result, open-cell foams are commonly used for foam padding and foam cushions. In addition, open cell foams are effective as sound barriers, having about twice the sound resistance as closed cell foam.
Foam fabricating services, such as foam cutting, work with many, many types of foam for even more numerous applications. The most common foam used is polyurethane foam, a resilient closed-cell foam that can biodegrade in direct and indirect sunlight. Typical applications for polyurethane foam include surgical scrubbers, x-ray positioning pads, EKG pads, insulation foam, protective foam padding, flexible foam seating and custom insulated containers. Polyethylene foam is a closed-cell, expanded, extruded, flexible plastic foam with predictable shock absorbing qualities. Used mainly as a protective packaging material, polyethylene foam is used to wrap products such as computer components, frozen foods, furniture, signs, sporting goods and clothing. Ethafoam is a popular polyethylene foam that offers excellent shock absorption qualities and is often used for blocking, cushioning and bracing protection in material handling and shipping. Polyether foam is a low-cost polyurethane foam that provides good cushioning and has acoustics and packaging properties. PVC foam is a closed-cell vinyl foam that is pliable and soft and used in gasketing to prevent water transmission. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is being used in some surprising applications: ladies bedroom slippers padding foam, air conditioners' air filter foam, home insulation foam, smokestack scrubbers filter foam, oil rigs, weather balloons and satellites.
Foam can be made from a variety of materials including plastic, low density elastomers and rubber. Typically formed from polymers, foam is made by mixing a number of chemicals and adding gassing agent. The addition of the gassing agent causes the material to expand and form a foam strip. The foam is comprised of numerous gas bubbles trapped in the material. After foam is formed, a variety of foam fabricating services can be performed, including several types of foam cutting processes. Die cutting is a common foam fabricating process, in which different shapes are cut out of foam strips, blocks or sheets. Water jet cutting uses a fine stream of water under ultra high pressure to perform the same function as die cutting, but offers extremely close tolerances that die cutting cannot achieve. Hot wire cutting utilizes a heated wire in order to form smooth, straight cuts in the foam. There are also several types of foam forming processes. A popular foam forming process is thermal-forming, in which bulk foam materials are heated in order to produce machinable shapes like foam sheets. Another forming process, foam felting, produces denser foam materials by means of compressing and curing thick, soft foam materials.
Foam fabricating services produce a large amount of scrap. The first major source of scrap is produced during foam production as well as foam die cutting processes. Foam fabricating scrap results from the startup and shutdown of the production line when changing run formulations and when foam blocks are cut and shaped into the desired end product. The second major source of foam scrap is foam products that have reached the end of their useful life. Scrap foam has been shredded and rebonded and then used for such things as carpet padding and filler for pillows and furniture. In previous decades, foam fabricators have burned foam materials. Although foam does not burn by itself, they can be forced to burn and is considered to be non-toxic by U.S government agencies. However, as the result of growing environmental concerns and more stringent carbon dioxide emission regulations, many foam manufacturers have turned to recycling foam scrap. Recycling offers manufacturers the ability to recoup return on investment, which would be lost by burning the scrap. Although the use of recyclable foam materials is growing, the process of collecting the foam, separating out foam's contaminants and then shipping the foam in an economic manner to those foam fabricators who utilize scrap is a significant obstacle for foam manufacturers wanting to recycle.
Foam Fabricating Types
- is flexible polyurethane foam and serves one of two purposes,
depending on whether it is attenuated or non-attenuated. The
attenuated foam absorbs sound and is good for soundproofing purposes;
the non-attenuated type allows sound to travel through it.
- is padding that stays completely intact
and provides even pressure distribution. Adhesive-backed foam padding
is often used in the medical industry.
- is a functional product created by gluing flexible polyurethane
particles or shredded flexible polyurethane foam together. The foam
block that results is typically peeled into a desired thickness and
is most commonly used as carpet cushioning.
- is any foam used for cushioning. Uses for cushion foam not only
include furniture applications but athletic padding as well.
- is a closed-cell, expanded, regular (uncrosslinked)
polyethylene foam product that is a trademark of The Dow Chemical
Company.
- is polyurethane foam that is used in furniture such
as beds, couches and chairs, because it molds itself to the shape
of the
body, providing comfort and support.
- is a light, spongy materials used for thermal insulation and packaging.
- is any foam used for cushioning purposes.
- refers to the process that is used to cut foam into various shapes and forms.
- Foam padding can be used for virtually any industry or product that requires extra lining for protection, comfort, sound insulation and product protection.
- is a cellular foam product that holds the shape of the
mold cavity in which is was produced.
- is a lightweight, spongy, soft foam in which the cell walls or surfaces of the bubbles are broken and air fills all of the spaces in the material. Open cell foam applications include water absorption, particulate filtering and thermal management.
- is a general term applied to foam that provides the
highest protection to a product during shipment.
- are made up of a mass of tiny gas bubbles dispersed
in a solid gas phase (matrix). Plastic foams are lightweight and
have
high strength-to-weight ratios.
- is a very rigid foam made primarily through an
extrusion process.
- and flexible polyurethane foam is different from
polyethylene in that it cannot be reheated; it must be shaped into
the final product in the foaming process.
- is a closed-cell foam with very low moisture absorption.
It is self-extinguishing, will not rot and has excellent fatigue
life
and good bond strength with common adhesives and resins.
- contains hundreds of millions of closely packed air cells.
Rigid foam has excellent thermal performance and is extremely
moisture resistant.
Foam Fabricating Terms
- A material utilized to alter the properties,
processing or final use of a base polymer. The quantity of additive is
usually articulated in terms of parts per hundred of the total resin
in the polymer formulation
- The quantity of air that can flow through a two foot
by two foot by one foot foam sample with a five inch water pressure differential. Air
flow is expressed in cubic feet per minute.
- Voids in molded foam parts that are the result of the
entrapment of air pockets occurring during mold fill out. Air traps
are characterized by shiny, smooth surfaces.
- Category of compounds that catalyze in polyurethane foam
reactions.
- Foam containing electrically
conductive material in order to prohibit static electricity buildup or
to promote static discharge. Anti-static flexible polyurethane foam is
used mainly for packaging electronic components.
- An additive that supplements the
main blowing agent water in the production of foam and could
create softer or lighter foam.
- A test technique that measures the surface resilience
of flexible polyurethane foam by dropping a steel ball of a specified
mass from a certain height onto the foam sample. The ball rebound value
is the ball rebound height as a percentage of the height of the fall.
- Large, irregular cells found beneath the surface
of the skin of a molded foam part.
- The method of foaming
flexible polyurethane in production. Blowing happens when toluene diisocyanate
and water react to create CO 2.
- The blending of two or more components into a composite.
Foam is typically attached to other foam grades or polyester fiber.
- The contouring or shaping of flexible polyurethane foam
pieces by the removal of foam with abrasives.
- A section of foam cut
from a constantly produced slab stock kind of foam.
- The hollow space left behind in the structure of polyurethane
foam encased by polymer membranes or the polymer skeleton after blowing
is finished.
- Flexible polyurethane foams produced without using
chlorofluorocarbons as auxiliary blowing agents.
- A process in which high-resiliency foam is produced.
Pouring is carried out without heat and foam is cured at or near room
temperature.
- An additive that will decrease
the ability of flexible polyurethane foam to ignite or make it burn more
slowly.
- Also known as compression
load deflection (CLD), it is a calculation of the load-bearing
capability of a foam.
- A process involving special cutting equipment to
create a foam sheet with dimples.
- The capability
of a flexible polyurethane foam to return to its natural state from the
pinched results of die cutting.
- A process in which the mold lid is closed and locked
in molded foam production and the foaming mixture is injected through
ports in the lid of the mold
- The cutting of foam with a specialized saw into
patterns from a foam block, creating a custom foam part.
- The inner area of foam, away from the outer skin.
- A procedure, typically mechanical- or vacuum-assisted,
in which the closed cells of a high resilience slab stock or molded foam
are opened.
- Foam with low resiliency that does not quickly regain
its original shape after deformation.
- A method in which the shape of the foam is altered
from its original state through compression or heat.
- The cutting out of parts from foam using a process that is similar
to stamping out the part. It is good for long duration runs of cut
parts that necessitate uniformity in size.
- The boring of holes into a foam to enhance air flow,
provide for greater ease of button application in tufted design and to
make the foam feel softer.
- Polymers that, when undergoing deformation, resist
and recover in a way similar to that of natural rubber.
- Also called "flame
bonding" it
is the process of bonding flexible foam to a fabric, film or other material
by melting the surface of the foam with a flame source and quickly pressing
it to the material before the foam resolidifies.
- A kind of polyurethane foam created
with a combination of polymer or graft polyols. This foam is not
as uniform in its cell structure in comparison to conventional products,
which enhances the comfort, support, resilience and bounce of the foam.
- The cutting of foam using high-temperature wires
instead of a saw blade. Hot wire cutting is generally used for cutting
intricate parts.
- A quick way to refer to the group of diisocyanates
that are one of the two primary ingredients in the chemical process from
which polyurethane foam is produced.
- A method of bonding layers of foam together in a simple
composite. Laminating could be attained with adhesives or with heat processes,
such as flame lamination.
- Method of cutting thin sheets from a foam cylinder.
- The higher-density exterior surface of foam, typically resulting
from the foam surface cooling at a higher rate than the core.
- Flexible polyurethane foam produced by the constant
pouring of mixed liquids onto a conveyor, which creates a continuous
loaf of foam.
- Method a foam cutter uses
for cutting sheets from a rectangular foam block.
- Significant hollow spaces that inadvertently form in foam
structures. Voids are typically the result of inaccurate mold filling
or inadequate moldability.