Foam Material Science

Solid foam, like sponge rubbers, are versatile cellular materials whose compressibility, light weight, and resilience make it an ideal material for shock absorption, insulation, and sealing applications

Open Cell Foams

Flexible expanded cellular materials with connected cells or gas pockets

Includes:
Conductive Foam
Foam Tape
Melamine
Polyester
Polyether
Polyimide, SOLIMIDE®
Polyurethane

Open Cell Foams

Both Open & Closed Cell Foams

Microscope view of open cell and closed cell foam

Foam materials that can be produced with either open, interconnected cells or individual closed cells.

Includes:
EPDM
Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA)
Polypropylene
Silicone

Both Open & Closed Cell Foams

Closed Celled Foams

Flexible expanded cellular materials with non-interconnecting cells

Includes:
Epichlorohydrin
Natural Rubber Foam
Nitrile (Buna-N)
Polyethylene
Polystyrene
PVC Sponge (Vinyl Foam)
Styrene Butadiene (SBR)

Closed Celled Foams

Solid Foams at Boyd

Foam and sponge rubber are compressible, resilient, lightweight materials that help insulate, absorb shock and impact, damp noise and vibration, and seal gaps and joints. Foams can be closed-cell, more suited to sealing applications, or open-celled, which are typically better for damping applications. Both come in a vast range of base chemistries, densities, thicknesses, and additional properties to help meet specific product requirements.

Boyd’s proprietary foam formulation, SOLIMIDE® Foams, is an extremely lightweight, broad temperature range, fire resistant foam that is ideal for thermal and acoustic insulation. We leverage our foam material science expertise broadly across our strategic partnerships with foam innovators to guide foam solutions optimized for a variety of performance needs.

rolled spiral pastel green sponge foam material

Boyd logo cut out in foam

SOLIMIDE® Foams

SOLIMIDE® acoustic foam

blocks of densified SOLIMIDE® Foam

Featured Foam: SOLIMIDE®

SOLIMIDE® Foams are a high performance, lightweight, open-celled polyimide foam formulated and converted at Boyd Corporation. With excellent thermal and acoustic properties, enhanced fire protection, and safety characteristics, SOLIMIDE® Foams are ideal for a broad range of critical applications from battery insulation and thermal runaway protection, noise damping and air diversion in data center racks, and heating jacket insulation. Lightweight characteristics of SOLIMIDE® Foams create significant weight savings compared to products with similar thermal, acoustic, and insulation performance, ideal in transportation, aerospace, and marine installations. SOLIMIDE® exhibits the best blend of weight, insulative properties, fire resistance, non-toxicity, and our best-in-class operating temperature range.

Learn More About SOLIMIDE® Foams

Foam Materials

Foam Material	Subcategory	Key Characteristics	Products & Industries
Conductive Foam	Open	Lightweight Compressible and Resilient Electrically conductive	Electromagnetic interference shielding for electronics, Electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection
Foam Tape	Open	Adhesive
Melamine	Open	Trade Names: Basotect, Vixum, Low Density, Thermal Insulation, Sound Absorption, Flame Retardant.	Acoustic Insulation, Pipe and Duct insulation, Railway and bullet train insulation
Polyester	Open	Derived from Polyurethane, Acts as an evaporative surface, Moderately Durable, Washable and reusable	Reticulate-Filter FoamCommon Filter Media, Cleaning up oil spills, Collecting vaporized oils from industrial equipment.
Polyether	Open	Common Trade names: Poron, Boyd MCUF Derived from Polyurethane Excellent Resistance to Compression Set Durable, long term performance Good vibration damping/impact resistance Flame Retardant: UL HBF Easy to Convert Easy to Laminate Moderately Expensive Moderate Temperature Range	Medical devices, packaging, filters, acoustic and thermal insulation.
Polyimide, SOLIMIDE®	Open	Lightweight Fire Resistance Exceeding FAR 25.856 specifications Minimal Smoke Generation Heat and Pressure Formable Flexible and Stable at Cryogenic Temperatures Hydrolytic Stability and Non-Wicking Non-Toxic and Formaldehyde Free Low Off-Gassing Does Not Support Microbial Growth Self-Supporting	Hyperscale computing and cloud servers, aerospace thermal insulation, eMobility battery protection and insulation, heat jacket insulation, marine insulation.
Polyurethane	Open	Either classified as Polyester or Polyether Polyurethane Wide temperature range Thermally and Acoustically Insulating Mold and fungus resistant	Seals and gaskets, flexible seating cushions, rigid thermal and acoustic insulation panels.
EPDM	Open, Closed	Can be Extruded Resistance to heat, acids, alkalis, salts, chlorine solutions High dielectric strength Synthetic rubber Vibration damping	Automotive insulation, Automotive weather seals, Door seals, Window seals, Trunk seals, Hood seals.
Ethylene Vinyl Acetate, EVA	Open, Closed	Retains flexibility and resilience Rapid recovery from compressions Low-water absorption Thermal and acoustic insulation Vibration and impact absorption Weather and Chemical Resistance	Appliances, electronics, medical and health care, automotive applications.
Chloroprene (Neoprene) Blends	Open, Closed	Meets government specifications Insulation Electrical insulation General good chemical stability Maintains flexibility over wide temperature range	Laptop sleeves, Orthopedic braces, Gaskets, Weatherstripping, Packaging, Closure seals
Polypropylene	Open, Closed	Expanded Polypropylene foam, EPP foam Durable, high tear strength Recyclable Lightweight Flexible	Insulation and cushioning, Automotive interior applications, HVAC insulation
Silicone	Open, Closed	High Temperature range exceeding 204ºC (400ºF) UL Rated Flame Resistance 94 V-0 and 94 HF-1 Low toxic emission when exposed to fire Excellent resistance to ozone and UVFire retardant thermal insulation Vibration isolation in electronic components	Dust and fluid ingress, outdoor gaskets, cushioning and vibration management, acoustic insulation in automotive, mass transit, and marine applications.
Nitrile	Closed	Buna-N, Acrylonitrile Butadiene Rubber, NBR, Oil and UV resistance Resists water Good abrasion and tear resistance Excellent compression set	Broad Application Range, Automotive and Aerospace fuel hoses, gaskets.
Styrene Butadiene	Closed	Buna-S, SBR Shock absorption and vibration dampening Flexible and resilient Resistant to wear and weak acids High abrasion resistance	Gaskets and weatherstripping, Vehicle Interiors.
Epichlorohydrin	Closed	ECH, ECO Excellent chemical resistance Excellent oil resistance Excellent weather resistance Large operating temperature range low gas permeability Good compression set Good heat and mineral oil resistance	Automotive Gaskets, Weatherproofing, Vibration Isolation.
Natural Rubber Foam	Closed	Isoprene Excellent tear and abrasion resistance Compression set resistance Good non-skid properties	Vibration reduction
Polyethylene	Closed	Shock Absorbing Moisture/Air Seal Solvent Resistant Range of Colors Lightweight Widely Available Narrow Temperature Exposure Takes Compression Set	Shock absorption, Thermal Insulation, Aerospace Noise Reduction, Packaging.
Polystyrene	Closed	EPS Foam Moisture Resistant Durable Thermally Insulating Dimensional Stability Lightweight	Thermal Insulation, Automotive Sound Dampening, Packaging.
PVC Sponge	Closed	Also called Polyvinyl Chloride, Vinyl Shock Absorber or Sound Damper Resilient, Soft Conforms to irregular surfaces and curves Ideal alternative to low permeable urethane Able to make long life seal against air, moisture, light and dust penetration Inherently resistant to fire, UV rays, most chemicals, acids and solvents	RV seals, Automotive gaskets and seals, Marine and Transportation.

Closed Cell and Open Cell Foam Options at Boyd

Boyd maintains an immense array of closed cell and open cell foam options with varying performance characteristics to meet the needs of a wide range of temperature and environmental exposure applications. Need a waterproof acoustic insulator? No problem. A flame retardant, environmentally friendly thermal insulator flexible at cryogenic temperatures? Also no problem. Our vast material selection expertise combined with advanced precision converting technologies enables Boyd to provide the optimal foam for desired compression force deflection combined with additional materials like pressure-sensitive adhesives and plastic films for a fully customized, complete sealing solution.

Overcoming our Customers’ Challenges

Foam is such an integral part of how Boyd solves problems for customers, we have our own non-flammable, lightweight, high performance polyimide foam material, called SOLIMIDE® Foam, ideal for acoustic and thermal insulation applications. Our foam solutions reduce your total cost of ownership by solving technical challenges in a streamlined solution for easy assembly and installation.

Optimal Foam for Your Application

Boyd’s strategic supply partnerships with the world’s greatest innovators in foam technology span up to seven decades. Our global footprint provides access to some of the most exciting technology leaders with regional development. We are engineered material experts – able to match your performance needs to the inherent material characteristics of thousands of foam options in the market today with the design expertise to customize the utilization of the optimal foam for your application through design for manufacturing. And because our manufacturing technologies are globally replicated and scalable, we can support your sealing, cushioning, and energy management needs using foam from three continents.

Manufacturing Capabilities

Rotary Die Cutting

Ideal for converting high volumes with the ability to die cut, kiss cut, slit, laminate, score and sheet foams in line with other laminating processes.

Flat Bed Die Cutting

With a wide range of production volumes, levels of automation and format size capacity, Flat Bed Die Cutting is a versatile converting process for even the densest foams.

Laser Cutting

Create complex foam shapes without the time or cost investment of tooling. Ideal for more rugged foams that may wear steel rule dies quickly.

Water Jet Cutting

Ideal for highly compressible or thick foams that would typically deform in die cutting. Water jets quickly convert medium volume foam projects without limited time and tooling cost and setup.

Lamination

Leverage additional materials in conjunction with your foam to create a multifunctional component. Adhesives bond secondary layers for features such as alignment or pull tabs, shielding, insulation, for a more complete assembly.

Have questions? We're ready to help!