Closed-cell foams are the best option for virtually any packaging, engineering or manufacturing application your business may have.
Closed-cell foam is a material in which the cells formed during manufacturing remain separated from one another. This structure produces materials that are water- and moisture-resistant, buoyant, highly thermally efficient, and provide excellent structural strength and rigidity. These properties make closed-cell foams suitable for a range of applications, most commonly packaging (such as end caps and foam inserts), but also marine, automotive, medical, sports equipment, and construction.
At Polyformes, we stock, supply and convert a wide range of carefully chosen closed-cell foams. Options include popular materials such as Plastazote, Ethafoam and Stratocell, as well as specialist options such as Microlen and ARPLANK. This range, plus our understanding of these materials, allows your business to source the optimal closed-cell foam sheets or products for your specific requirements.
Polyformes can offer a market-leading range of material options, particularly closed-cell polyethylene foams and ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA).
Closed-cell foams typically offer a range of benefits, including:
The main difference between open and closed-cell foam is their structure. Open-cell foam has interconnected cells that allow moisture and air to pass through them, and which also tends to make them soft and pliable. Closed-cell foam, by contrast, has sealed cells that trap gas. As a result, closed-cell foams are more rigid, typically have a higher density, and are completely waterproof.
Closed-cell foam is highly water-resistant and virtually waterproof. Because each cell is completely sealed and not interconnected with its neighbours, liquid water and moisture cannot penetrate or travel through the material. This characteristic makes it ideal for marine flotation devices, outdoor sleeping mats, and vapour-barrier insulation.
R-value is a measure of a material’s resistance to heat flow – the “R” essentially stands for resistance. In the simplest terms, the higher the R-value, the better the material is at insulating. Although it can vary by grade and density, closed-cell foam typically has an exceptionally high thermal resistance, with an R-value between R-6 and R-7 per inch of thickness. This figure is nearly double the R-value of standard open-cell foam, which sits around R-3.5 to R-3.8 per inch.
Closed-cell foam can be easily cut, shaped, and tailored to custom dimensions by an experienced foam converter. This includes using techniques such as sawing, laminating, and butt-welding to create material blocks, or “buns,” of specific sizes. Advanced techniques, such as CNC routing, heat moulding, waterjet cutting, and even laser engraving, can produce a surprisingly broad range of packaging and other foam products.
Polyformes works closely with several closed-cell foam manufacturers, allowing you to choose from a market-leading range of options.
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