If you need to both organise and protect your tools, foam shadowboards are a great option.
Shadowboards, also known as tool control foam, are foam tool trays or inserts used to store and organise tools and small equipment in factories, workshops, and manufacturing environments. The foam has the exact shape of the tools cut into it, creating a specific recess for each tool in a larger set. The recesses or pockets are also typically a contrasting colour, making it easy to visually identify if a tool or item is missing from the shadowboard.
At Polyformes, we are experts in creating shadow board foam. Our designers can create custom, easy-to-use layouts that make tool retrieval quick and easy. Manufacturing in-house for precision tolerances, we can even laser-etch part numbers and instructions directly onto the tool foam.
By using tool control foam shadowboards at your business, you benefit from:
A foam shadowboard is a custom-cut tool organiser used to manage and protect equipment. By nesting tools into precise cut-outs, often featuring a bright contrasting bottom layer, it allows users to instantly see if an item is missing, improving workplace efficiency and supporting 5S lean manufacturing practices.
Plastazote is the most commonly used foam for manufacturing shadowboards. This is because its closed-cell, cross-linked structure is resistant to oils, fuels, and chemical solvents, maintains its shape under heavy use, and doesn’t absorb moisture, helping prevent tools from rusting over time.
Shadow boards use a dark top layer of foam (e.g. black or blue) laminated to a brightly colored bottom layer (e.g. red, yellow, or green). When a user removes a tool, the bright color underneath is exposed, creating a highly visible “shadow” that alerts users of a missing item.
5S shadowboards refer to the 5S lean manufacturing methodology (Sort, Set in Order, Shine, Standardise, Sustain). This type of foam may also be called Kaizen foam, tool foam, or tool control foam.
We don’t just manufacture foam shadowboards – we gain a detailed understanding of our business and challenges before proposing a cost-effective solution that does exactly what you need.
Understanding
We discuss your requirements with you, gaining a full, detailed understanding of your project.
Develop
Using your products or CAD data, we develop a solution using appropriate materials.
Test
We provide pre-production samples for testing and assurance on fit and quality.
Manufacture
We manufacture your inserts in-house at our specialist foam conversion facility.
Support
We forge long term relationships, providing ongoing support and assistance.
Being one of the UK’s largest foam converters – and one of the longest established – means that by sourcing tool shadow foam from us, your business can expect several benefits.
UK manufacture
Short lead times
Foam experts
Single source
Vast experience
Sustainable at heart
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If you need high-performance foam inserts, packaging, products or materials, we can help. Please contact a member of our team for a free consultation and quote.
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The information on this page was written and checked by our team of experts. You can contact them to discuss your requirements, or for any questions you may have, using the details here.
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