How thin can it be molded?
The ability to design components of industrial products with thin walls contributes to savings in space, weight, and cost, and as such brings major advantages. Generally, however, molded foam products are manufactured by using air to fill a mold with large-diameter foam beads, and this method is therefore often unsuitable for molding of thin-wall products.
A foam suitable for thin-wall molding
SunForce beads are manufactured in a fine granule size (approximately 1 mm) to ensure that wall thicknesses as thin as possible can be designed in foam material. As a result, thin-wall molding difficult with conventional foams is now possible, and with increased freedom in product design.
Although the recommended wall thickness of SunForce depends on the shape of the molded product and conditions of use, in terms of the bead filling property and molded product strength, it is recommended that thickness is 4 mm or more for SunForce x7 products. Furthermore, while this restriction does not apply to lower-end x5 beads and minute molded shapes, since UL registration is certified as flame-retardant V-0 at 3 mm thickness or more, in terms of flame retardancy, a thickness of 3 mm or greater is required even for the thinnest parts (5 mm or greater for x10) (How good is flame retardancy?)
minimum wall thickness limit
For the wall thickness of the upstand it is also necessary to consider bead-filling properties and draft angle. Refer to the Product design guide for design details.
While SunForce is a foam, it is also a material usable in components with thin ribs or for thin chassis.
