Tooling foam, core excels in uniformity, high temps and repeated curing

General Plastics Manufacturing Co. (Tacoma, Wash., U.S.), a provider and manufacturer of rigid and flexible polyurethane foam sheet stock, built-to-print composite assemblies and finished custom parts, is exhibiting the latest advancements to its Last-a-Foam high-temperature tooling board foam and composite core products.

Last-a-Foam tooling board provides aerospace, automotive, marine and other composites manufacturing companies with a high-performance, consistently uniform material that can withstand high temperatures and repeated curing cycles. Affordable and dimensionally stable, this rigid foam board is ideal for prototype machining, high-temperature curing prepregs, vacuum forming, pattern making and other limited-run tooling where traditional metal dies are cost-prohibitive.

Available in 3-50-pound densities, this series is non-abrasive, can be machined with standard high-speed steel cutting tools into complex shapes and is available in custom sizes. It can also be cut cleanly with waterjets and traditional wood-carving tools. General Plastics also offers complete in-house production services that deliver tools machined to final specifications.

According to the company, Last-of-Foam core is renowned for its high strength, low weight and consistent properties. Its formulations are reported to offer a compelling alternative to traditional core materials, such as thermoplastic foam, honeycomb, wood and metal. General Plastics’ closed-cell, water-resistant core materials meet the requirements of numerous industries and complex applications such as FST/OSU-compliant foam core in aircraft interior sandwich panels; high strength-to-weight ratio core material for automotive load floors; dielectric material for radomes; buoyancy foam in subsea applications; and even impact-resistant core in hockey sticks.

General Plastics recently released a new composite core technical paper, which examines the factors to consider when choosing a core material for an application, which is available at www.generalplastics.com.