Machinable Tooling Foam

OUR RIGID POLYURETHANE FOAM TOOLING BOARD

Tool and mold makers count on General Plastics for superior-quality LAST-A-FOAM^®  machinable foam, polyurethane molds, and pattern-to-tool capabilities. Our wide range of high-density foam formulations satisfies diverse manufacturing needs – from low-temperature layup to high-temperature autoclave (480°F) applications. Uniform, grain-free and highly machinable, LAST-A-FOAM^® tooling foam boards are ideal for master models, check fixtures, rapid prototypes, mold and foundry patterns, master-plugs, and composite tooling.

Our rigid tooling foam boards bond securely and easily using a variety of adhesive systems. Their excellent bonding ability allows you to create monolithic tools and polyurethane foam molds necessary for building large-scale projects. Substituting LAST-A-FOAM^® for metals offers significant cost savings on prototype development prior to building the final metal tool. It is also much more affordable for limited-run tooling where metals are cost-prohibitive.

Beyond making foam molds for short-run composite tools highly affordable, General Plastics’ FR-4700 high temperature, low CTE tooling board offers outstanding stability and versatility. Its higher glass transition temperature and low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) makes it suitable for use in vacuum-forming applications where other urethane products may soften or deform.

Highly Machinable Material

Look to our rigid polyurethane foam products and fabricated parts to fulfill your tooling and mold applications. We can supply you with specified tooling foam material, or create prototypes and CNC-machined molds from your designs and specifications. Our knowledgeable customer service and CNC teams are here to support your project from concept to completion. Custom sheet sizes and formulations of rigid foam for machining are also available.

Read this case application to learn how General Plastics’ Tooling Boards and Machining Services helped improve a pool feature.

Recommended Products

• FR-3700 Performance Core Series
• FR-4500 Tooling Board Series
• FR-4700 High Temperature Tooling Board Series
• FR-7100 Multi-Use Core and Modeling Board Series

Use our Product Finder tool to find out what product is suitable for your specific application.

Large Tool Demonstration Bonding, Prepreg and Layup Demo using Hexcel HexTOOL^® M61

Advantages

• Dimensionally stable with no warp or bow
• Large tooling blocks available in a range of densities
• Excellent machinability with anti-static properties
• Support up to 400°F peak temperature (FR-4700 High-Temperature board)
• Enable continuous use at 350°F (FR-4700 High-Temperature board)
• Compatible with epoxy prepregs (FR-4700)
• Easily bonded to support large applications

Applications

• Pattern making
• Foam plugs
• Styling and design models
• Prototype machining
• Layup tools
• Check fixtures
• Mold and foundry patterns
• Proofing
• Vacuum forming
• Forming tools

Services

• Built-to-print
• Computer-aided design
• Mold-design services
• CNC-machined molds
• Prototype tooling services
• Prototype/short-run
• Testing/analysis service

High Temperature Epoxy Urethane Foam: An economical alternative for soft tool and molds