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what is foamex?
Sorry if its in the wrong forum, but I couldnt put the pics in the fabrication topic.
Ther are many names and makers of this type of material, it is often critisiced, but it s very confusing because of the similarity of the trade names and material.
Look at the pictures and you will see what I mean, and this is from one manufacturer.
Peter
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28 Replies
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many variations on the name peter and on the product. (i agree, can be missleading)
I’m guessing that the top one is foam core exhibition board? it is like a very lightweight foam sandwiched between thin white card/paper. -
quote Robert Lambie:many variations on the name peter and on the product. (i agree, can be missleading)i still call forex..foamex even though its a kappa board product 😕
nik
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Nik Kappa board is not one of the above
the Foamex has a paper/board surface as rob said
kappa board is more like a foil coated surface.
thats what I mean, very confusing to some.
PeterSorry had to edit cos on closer inspection of my samples they are not what I thought
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quote Peter Normington:Nik Kappa board is not one of the above
they are both plastic,
kappa board is more like rob said, with a paper/card surface.
thats what I mean, very confusing to some.
Peterlooks like kappa board to me…. 😀 anyway the reason im confused is…what is the NEW kappa board made from? as some folk have pointed out that ‘the new kappa’ can be used outside? 😕 so i presumed the outsides were made of plastics 😮 totally confused now 😀
nik
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Check the spelling Peter. The product you are showing is Foam-X. “Foamex” is a brand name but has come into general usage, a bit like Hoover. The paper coated stuff also has many names….Cobex, Foamcore etc.
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Andy Who makes Foamex then,
Alusuise who make these products make dibond, so I presume they are market leaders. Foam-x was probably the original ?Peter
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Andy you are right, Foamex is a brand name, used for beds though, so I guess thats even more confusing
Peter -
It’s been a while since I saw a sheet (of pvc) with “Foamex” written on it so I can’t remember.
Who cares anyway? 😀
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Andy, I suppose the people who buy your signs care, if you sell them something thats not suitable.
And a lot of people who ask for advice on the boards are also pointed to foamex as a material, all I am trying to establish is what it is?
I also refer to pvc sheet as foamex, but what I buy is forex or something else.
Peter -
Peter, if I refer to rigid pvc as ‘Foamex’ when it is actually ‘Amari foam’ or ‘Forex’ I don’t think it really matters much. So there 😛
Perhaps the site should have a glossary………Rob could write it, he doesn’t do much else! 😉
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I remember Foamex too and we still call it that,even though it is now Forrex Classic. Going back about 6-7 years now when Foamex came about though.
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If I am planning to use Forrex, in my quotes I always describe it as PVC signboard. This impresses the fools… I mean punters..sorry .. er.. clients 😳
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quote Andy Gorman:Peter, if I refer to rigid pvc as ‘Foamex’ when it is actually ‘Amari foam’ or ‘Forex’ I don’t think it really matters much. So there 😛
Perhaps the site should have a glossary………Rob could write it, he doesn’t do much else! 😉
:lol1: :lol1: :lol1: :lol1: nutter… got me laughing out loud there :lol1: :lol1: :lol1:
i do also call it foamex, doesnt really matter to me what i call it as long as i know what i mean. i dont say that in a flippant way… i try not to use the stuff unless i have to. if i do, i will already have given whoever im talking to the run down on the stuff. 😀
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6-7 years? I was using Foamex in 1986. I’ll tell you what is a good alternative to foamex (whatever), is a product called Komacel. Very much more stable and doesn’t expand like mad when the sun comes out.
Rob, snap! I call it Rigid PVC Signboard. Sounds posher than Foamex. 🙂
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Andy, how can you call it rigid, it bends ?
Hope you dont use the same term with your girlfriend, she might be disapointed 😀 😀
Peter -
Don’t get me started.
OK then, technically speaking, ‘Foamex’ for example isn’t plastic at all. If you put something under stress and then release it, if it returns to its original shape it is elastic. Plastic will stay at the shape you bent it to.
3 years at college were not wasted after all.
My girlfriend is constantly disappointed. 😉
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quote Phill:If I am planning to use Forrex, in my quotes I always describe it as PVC signboard. This impresses the fools… I mean punters..sorry .. er.. clients 😳
twice in one thread im laughing here… i now have irn-bru running down my monitor, thank you very much phill! 😉
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quote Peter Normington:Andy, how can you call it rigid, it bends ?
Hope you dont use the same term with your girlfriend, she might be disapointed 😀 😀
PeterRob, I laughing at that line…
6-7 years ago.. might be 10, i lost count. -
Foamex is foamex- foamx is not foamex.
Closed cell PVC board was marketed years and years ago as foamex and that’s what I call it- kind of like panatrim being the first aluminium extrusion so that’s what everything else is referred to as.
If you ask for closed cell PVC substrate you get foamex.
The other stuff in your photo is foamcore- or at least that’s what we call it.
All this other stuff- forrex and foamalux is all the same stuff as foamex.
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That’s what I said! I just dragged it out over several posts to wind Peter up.
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Peter you didn’t buy 10 sheets of foam-x thinking it was foamex ?? 😮
So many cowboys around my way, i just call it "a bit of white board", other wise the punters think i’m too dear..lol
Simon
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Proper technical term for the Forex and the Foamex is Foam PVC, this is what you get if you ask for Foamex from Amari.
I also think it’s referred to as Foamed PVC.
God I’m an Anorak 😕 Comes from having an Engineering background, all those technical word you have to remember to use in job specs, still do it now for signs.
Steve
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Simon,
I do know what it is; I only buy 10 sheets or more when amari are doing 5mm for a tenner a sheet.Anyways “foamex” is a corupted generic term. Ive asked this before because of the problems people have had with “foamex” expanding.
If you consider all the problems posted on the boards you would say it was a totally unsuitable material for signage.Just wondered if “foamex” varies between manufacturer
Peter -
Is’nt this a case of ‘Hoover’ and Perspex
Everone calls it those names because it was first or most popular. So that even a Dyson is called a hoover by punters and acrylic is almost always referred to as Perspex even though they are just trade names of one company.
Everyone called Rigid PVC Foam – Foamex until the clones of it started to appear.
This is some data for Foamed PVC sheets called Palight I am sure most of the properties apply to all Foam PVC although there are cheap versions and expensive versions or clones. I am sure the cheaper version may not be as fire resistant as the more expensive. I remember a company usuing a particular brand for an airport as it was the only one at the time that was fire resistant
Foamed PVC sheets are ideal for indoor and outdoor use in advertising, construction and industry. The foamed PVC sheets feature lightweight, durable and versatile surfaces which can be painted, printed, laminated, embossed, engraved or milled, according to customer specifications. Foamed PVC Sheets can be fabricated, formed and installed easily using conventional methods.
Palight Foamed PVC sheets are available in the following colours: white, grey, red, blue, yellow, green and black.
Foamed PVC features at a glance
Half the weight of solid PVC Sheets. (Specific gravity: 0.55 – 0.70)
Same thickness at lower cost
Thickness up to 19 mm
Good mechanical properties
Good insulation, lower heat transmission
Easily worked with conventional tools, prints and paints
Can be easily bonded, vacuum formed, nailed and bolted
Flammability: self-extinguishing
Low water absorption
High chemical resistance
Meet international standards
Non-toxiAnyway I still call it Foamex when I order it and the suppliers know what I want Foam PVC sheets. Customers only want to know if it is weatherproof anyway.
Mike
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Simon
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Eh?!
What’s wrong with foamex then? If you read the techincal booklet which you ask the stockist for it tells you all the do’s and dont’s on what it will and won’t do. If you make whopping great display panels or sign faces out of it then it’s bound to give you gip cos on it’s own it won’t work. I’d rather use foamex anyday than muck about with that awful nasty correx stuff or impractical foamcore boards. Cheap acrylic knackers my blades and bits so that’s out too.
Yes foamex a cheap material and yes it expands- it’s a foamed plastic full of air pockets so it’s bound to. For exhibition work there aint much else out there for the price. One of our clients uses it for loads of stuff on their stands cos it’s fire retardent- if they use MDF or whatever it’s got to be FR grade which add’s to the cost and is well heavy to move around site.
Foamex isn’t suitable for all types of signs but then again nothing is. Different applications need different systems and materials.
If we are making up light exhibition flat cuts or builders boards we use foam- there are some really nice brands out there- foamalux being one of them.
You will never stop people calling foam PVC sheet foamex same as you won’t stop people calling acrylic Perspex- where Perspex is the recognised brand name here Plex is what everyone calls it in Europe and the states- just one of them things.
I just don’t agree that foamex is totally unsuitable for signwork- if you use it in the right way you can make some nice looking sign work out of it- especially 10mm. A few years back foamex type stuff was quite a bit more expensive than it is now so it’s not always been seen as cheap tat.
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You’re absolutely right Andy. I have heard some comments on here damning foamex (or whatever you call it) as a cheap and nasty product. Using the common example seen in towns all over the country, if you screw fix a Perspex sign to a wall, without a frame, it will expand and buckle the same as foamex but you never hear a bad word about it.
Even cheap materials can be used properly. Conversely, expensive materials can be used wrongly.
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you can get 3mm simopor – 8 by 4 foam pvc
from printall for 7ish quid a pop, if you buy 200 plus sheetsor you should all realise that you should group together and buy bulk
-as its all made elsewhere in the world
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