Facts about Foam
What is Foam?
Foam (polyurethane foam) is made of up molecular chains bound together by urethane.
How the foam is made will change certain properties of the foam, such as density or rigidness.
Most often polyurethane is dispensed into blocks that are cooled and then are cut and shipped to a manufacturer so that they
may cut their final products out of it.
Where is Foam used?
There are many different types of foam, and therefore are seen in many different applications.
You might be sitting on foam right now, if you’re in an office chair or on a couch.
You might sleep on foam at night if you’ve purchased a memory foam mattress or topper.
Your package in the mail probably came packed in some sort of foam (commonly Styrofoam peanuts, but more fragile packages will be
packed with more solid foam). Foam fingers, foam RC Planes, foam band aids, gel inserts, furniture, car parts,
and insulation materials are just some of the thousands of products that are made from foam.
How does the density of foam effect the result?
Foam density is the referring to the weight of the foam.
The density is typically measured by weighing a 12” square cube of foam in pounds per cubic foot.
As you may imagine, higher density foams are typically of better quality and will be more resilient, and therefore last longer and not sag.
Higher density foam is typically more difficult to cut on foam saws.
What is ILD?
ILD stands for “Indention Load Deflection” and is a common term used to describe the firmness of a foam.
The resulting number is the measure of how many pounds per cubic feet it takes to compress a sample of foam by 25%.
Different ILDs have different applications depending on what you’re using it for.
What is a CNC Foam Cutting machine?
A CNC (Computer Numerical Control) is a foam saw that is guided by a logic computer.
This computer aids in the process of cutting by allowing you to specify certain points you want to cut at and having the logic
computer move the saw the appropriate distance. Commonly, a CNC operated foam cutting machine also includes some sort of drawing software,
referred to as CAD (Computer-Aided Drawing) or CAM (Computer-Aided Machining) software. This allows the user to easily draw what part they
want, and have the logic computer on the foam cutting saw decipher it.
Is foam fire retardant?
Not all foam is fire retardant. Certain types of foam, such as Foamglas®, are fire retardant simply because of what
they’re made of and their properties when mixed. Other foams, although not initially fire retardant, have applications in which they are
required by law to be compliant with certain fire codes.