FAQ

The indentation force deflection (or IFD) is a test method used to determine a foam’s capacity to bear a load (its firmness or stiffness). It’s expressed in pounds of force per 50 square inches, at a given percent deflection of foam. It used to be called ILD.

The compression load deflection (CLD) is a measurement of firmness expressed in pounds per square inch (psi), at a given percentage deflection.

The percent compression set is a measurement of the foam’s permanent deformation after it’s been compressed between 2 metal plates for a certain period of time at a specific temperature.

Most tests compress the foam for 22 hours at 70° C (158° F). The foam is compressed to some percentage of its original thickness (usually 50%).

The compression set value is the loss of compression demonstrated by the foam after the test. For example, if a 2″ x 2″ x 1″ sample is 1.00″ thick at the beginning of the test and 0.95″ thick after the test, it did not recover 5% of its thickness and would have a compression set value of 5%.

The tensile strength measures the amount of force necessary to break a ½ sq. inch area of foam as it’s pulled apart. The measurement is in pounds per square inch (psi).

A piece of foam’s elongation is the measurement of the extent to which the foam can stretch before it breaks. The rating is expressed as a percentage of the foam’s original length, and the elongation is measured during the tensile strength test.

The measure of force necessary to continue a tear in a piece of foam after a split has been started is the tear strength. It’s measured in pounds per linear inch (pli).

Clickability is a rating (good, fair, or poor) based on the foam’s ability to recover from a die cutting operation. Click is tested by subjecting a piece of tensile 1-inch foam to die cutting and watching the initial recovery and the recovery after 1 minute.

We assess the sharpness of the edges of the tensile part and the 1-inch foam sheet from which it was cut. We also look at the height recovery after the die cutter’s compression.

Foam is measured in board feet. One board foot of foam is equal to a 12″ x 12″ x 1″ piece of foam and 1/12 of 1 cubic foot.

Reticulated foam (or filter foam) has a 3-dimensional skeletal structure with few or no membranes between the strands. Reticulated foam can be used as a filter, as well as for acoustical panels or controlled liquid delivery.

Water jet cutting has many advantages that can be beneficial to manufacturing a part.

• We can create finished quality parts without expensive dies and the wait associated with having them made. This can be helpful in developing a part with you as we can go quickly through iterations of a part that will later be die cut.
• Water jet cut parts have straight sides even on parts, a feature that is lacking on parts that are die cut (especially in parts thicker than an inch).
• Water jet parts can be cut thicker than die cut parts, which improves the cosmetics of the part.
• Water jet cutting can potentially improve the yield for some parts as water jet parts can be cut next to each other and right up against the edge of the material.
• Water jet cutting has a high level of precision.