Cutting Foam

[Alan Moberly]

I have seen references to cutting i.e. outlines for storing tools etc on the internet. Can you tell me what type of foam is being used for laser cutting.

[Matt McCoy]

Try Toolfoam dot com. The 4# foam is approved for laser use.

[David Somers]

Alan,

Along with Matt's suggestion for a vendor and a foam to use, you might do a searches in the forum on the term "Cutting Foam" and "Tool Foam"

For cutting foam, one of the first returns is this thread that you might find useful combined with Matt's suggested product.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?214319-Issues-laser-cutting-foam&highlight=cutting+foam

Dave

[Alan Moberly]

I went to the toolfoam.com website and I learned you can cut the foam with a router bit as well. We have a cnc router so both methods of cutting could be on the table.

[David Somers]

Alan,

I once tried cutting foam with a router bit that, like me, was perhaps not the sharpest bit in the tool box. Having a piece of foam wrap about my rapidly spinning router was pretty amusing. I was thankful it was foam and not wood! <giggles and grins occurring as I remember this incident> I might stress the need for a sharp router bit? <snort>

Dave

[Alan Moberly]

We have on occasion had protective covering wrap around the bit. The noise it makes causes minor heart attacks.

[Richard Rumancik]

Alan, it is probably polyurethane foam you are looking for. There may be some others that work in some cases (eg polyester) depending on density and properies needed. I have cut polyurethane foam successfully with a laser and 4" lens. You will need a long FL lens - I can cut 1" and perhaps 1.5" with the 4" lens and 30 watts. If you want to cut thicker you will probably need a longer lens yet, and more power. The problems are that the majority of the substrate thickness is out of the typical depth-of-focus range, and that the foam has minimal thermal conductivity to transmit laser energy to adjacent material. Two passes is often not successful with foam as the foam kerf can sometimes close up in places so you can't see to the bottom of the kerf for the second pass. You need to plan for one pass.

If you search on polyurethane foam, PUR foam, and polyurethane ester foam, you will probably come up with some options. (Also try "laser cutting" + "polyurethane foam"). A supplier should be able to provide some small samples to test.

[Travis Wizniuk]

I made some custom foam inserts for myself out of "Tile Foam" you find at Walmart. Its about 3/4" thick and comes in multiple colors. Its sold in interlocking squares and used to soften a concrete floor.

I did lookup what its made from and discover it was "Laser Safe". Unfortunately I can't remember what material it was.

[Alan Moberly]

Thank you for all the the tips.

[Mary Lee]

Hi , I found some foam last year after my house was finished home improvements. Then cut with some victors which I modified from internet. The foam thickness is 20-25mm ,cutting sides is perfect and attract all guys eyes around. Sorry I once upload the wrong picture ,I can not and worried how to show the original photo to friends here .And let everyone know my works.:p
Now I am planing cutting and making 3D carton,very interesting ..

Sorry for my bad English !
Regards,
Mary

[Alan Moberly]

What I have found so far is the tooling foam is polyethylene foam. I laser cuts and machines with a router. I am going to buy a smallish piece and do some testing.

[Richard Rumancik]

Alan, when you say "tooling foam" I assume that you want to make inserts for heavy tools? If this is the case then perhaps polyethylene foam would work better for you. It is usually denser than polyurethane and is therefore stiff. It can be actually cut with a sharp knife where urethane foam resists cutting with a utility knife. PUR can be knife-cut, but the knife drags and the material stretches and you can only get crude straight cuts with a knife. (I use a knife to precut my slabs which are about 50" x 100"). If you go to this webpage you will see a pretty good comparison (maybe half way down the page). Click on the photos of the two foams and you will get a better idea of each.

If it is for small delicate tools then polyurethane may be the right choice.

http://www.carrycasesplus.com/custom-foam-inserts/

I have cut polyurethane foam for electronic instrument cases but have not tried the polyester.

There are many of variations of foams and each has a density range; there are also open and closed-cell options in some series depending on what you need. The closed cell will resist compression a lot more as the cells behave like closed bubbles. You just need to scout something that gives the necessary properties and is laser-cuttable. Generally polyester foams will be laserable but I don't know about the edge quality or meltback characteristics.

[Larry Bratton]

Heck..I just buy it at Lowes. They sell some that doesn't have backing on it. I use 3/4" thick to make protective inserts inside of a box to protect laser cut plastic. I cut it with Epilog at 100p/30s/500f.

[Alan Moberly]

Larry what department are you getting it in.

[Larry Bratton]

Item #14545 -$15.47 for a 4x8 sheet.

Larry what department are you getting it in.

[Richard Rumancik]

Larry, I wonder if what you are using is the same thing . . . what purpose is it normally sold for at a home-improvement store? Is it sold as insulation or what? I couldn't find the SKU you supplied on their website.

[Larry Bratton]

It's insulation board. I buy it all the time.
286877

Larry, I wonder if what you are using is the same thing . . . what purpose is it normally sold for at a home-improvement store? Is it sold as insulation or what? I couldn't find the SKU you supplied on their website.

[Mary Lee]

Hey Alan,
The polyethylene foam isn't a soft material? How can it be cut by router ?

Mary

[Mary Lee]

my works with EXLAS laser ! Just for funny ! :p:D
drawings download from internet and edit by Corel .
286886 286887 286888 286889 286890

[Richard Rumancik]

Larry, although this type of foam may serve your purposes I doubt it is what Alan was hunting down. This is polystyrene foam and is quite different than polyester and polyurethane foams.

[Larry Bratton]

Oh..OK Works fine for me. I knew a guy in the sign business that sold hundreds of letters cut from this same material. He told me the blue colored material would not attract birds like the white would. (For whatever that is worth)

Larry, although this type of foam may serve your purposes I doubt it is what Alan was hunting down. This is polystyrene foam and is quite different than polyester and polyurethane foams.