Honeycomb, sponge foam, rubber foams and composite core materials can be rubber, plastic, ceramic or even metallic in nature. They have internal cells, or pores (which may be open or closed) that allow them to be used for composites, tooling, insulation, floatation or impact protection.

The construction of honeycomb and composite products is such that the central core material is covered with a strong and flexible skin, so they are often called flexible foams. Different configurations allow them to handle particular stresses for example the skins of foam sheets may resist tearing by compression and tension, while the cores of foam blocks may resist shearing when bent.

The cores of foam products vary enormously in their chemical composition and engineering. One of the most common ways to buy them is as foam sheets or panels. These are composed from synthetic polymers such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride), PE (polyester) or PU (polyurethane). The foams are named after their chemical core composition; hence you can get PU, PVC or PE foams – each of which has quite unique characteristics.

Foam blocks and sheets vary enormously in their density and thicknesses, depending on the use to which they’ll be put and their relative strength. For example, Confor foams have highly superior cushioning and impact resistance, even when used in thin sheets. This makes them a popular choice where a lighter weighted foam is needed, for example sports equipment and aircraft seats.

We at Technical Foam Services have a wide range of PE, PU and PVC foams, in different thicknesses and densities, to suit every possible industrial and domestic application.

Tags: confor foams, foam blocks, PVC, Rubber

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 at 10:10 am and is filed under Foams. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.