Foam Sources

From: Ivan Repin
Subject: Technical: Foam and plastics suitable for fursuit heads

Here is some data on some of the species of foam and plastics suitable for head construction in no particular order.

EVA foam.
Available in thicknesses from 5mm to 50mm in many colours (most useful grey and white), and in different grades of hardness from 30(very soft) to 360(very hard).

I use grade 30 for harness sweatbands and 60 for general head construction. It is very lightweight but will be effected by excessive heat. It can be cut and shaped easily and can be glued with contact cement. It is of closed cell construction and floats. If you have difficulty obtaining this from a plastics house, they use this plastic for making cheap camping mats (usually blue in colour). 10mm seems to be the usual thickness. one mat is about right for a small head. The hard grades can be used for foot soles. Try a footwear industry supplier.

Polyurethane foam.
This is the most readily available foam and is in several grades and colours. The grade I find most useful is black MEO30, a very open foam (I think you guys call it air conditioning foam ). it is used for air filters and on the front of speaker boxes. this shapes extremely well and can be cut and glued easily. It is available in several thicknesses (the most useful is 50mm(2')). It is heat resistant but dont burn it! Plastics and foam suppliers will have this.

Polystyrene Sheet
A useful plastic with a low and sharp melting point. mainly used for vacuum forming. black and white seem to be the most useful colours. Cut with a slow speed jigsaw or by handsaw as it will melt back together along the cut otherwise. easily cemented to itself with model cement. Can be used with my simple method of vacuum forming but watch the heat.

Acrylic sheet
AKA perspex. I use this for vacuum forming eyes using the simple method. Has a high and indefinite melting point, preferring to gradually soften over a range of temperatures. Available in many colours but the most useful are clear (for dual layer eyes) or smoke (for single layer eyes). easy to cut using a jig saw or score and snap. 1.5 to 5mm is the thickness range but 3mm seems to be the best compromise between strength and workability. It does however go brittle at low temperatures. Needs a special cement to glue to itself. Available from plastics suppliers.

Polycarbonate Sheet
AKA lexan. Used for the same purposes as Acrylic sheet but it performs better at low temperatures. It requires more heat to soften than Acrylic and is harder to cut. Available from plastics Suppliers

High density Polyethylene Sheet
Tougher relative of normal polyethylene. I use this for my harness system and other structural parts of my fursuits. it is easy to cut and shape but impossible to glue. It can, however, be riveted or bolted together. the most useful thicknesses are 3mm for general structural work and 1.5mm for ear cores etc. Available from plastics suppliers.

From: Lex Nakashima
Subject: Re: Tech: Foam translations…

Re: Ivan Repin's nice FAQ on foam & plastic materials:

Boy, I thought that the regional names for foams could be confusing! Ivan's descriptions and uses for the various foams was good enough not to repeat, but a couple of 'Stateside names might make it easier to find these materials.

EVA foam–from your description, I'm guessing that this is what is called L-200 foam out here. L-200 is a fairly dense, closed cell foam with no discernable “bubbles”–it's got a very smooth grain. Lately, this foam has been used in making heads and body pods, but it does not breath very well. I believe there is also an L-300 (very dense–almost rigid) and an L-100, but I've never seen it. Another closed-cell foam people have mentioned recently are the very bubbly, light foams that have recently been used for pool toys (those rods and tubes).

What Ivan refers to as one type of polyurethane foam (speaker foam/air conditioner filter foam) is known locally as “Scott Foam” and more generally as “reticulated foam”. It's almost more like a 3-D mesh than a traditional foam. Unfortunately, they've changed the recipe again (AQMD regulations, damn 'em) and the most recent version of the foam is mush squishier and less rigid/form-holding that before. The new stuff feels almost like regular foam rubber (if you can find the old stuff, grab it if you can!).

Regular foam rubber (also a polyurethane) has a wide variety of densities, but be careful–the more rigid the foam, the more brittle it is. The soft stuff you can stretch-heck out of; the '90 or higher stuff will rip with just a little pull.

I'm less familiar with the Vacuum-forming plastics, but the common names out here are PETG (what soda bottles and CO2 bombs are made out of:very clear and strong) and styrene (cheap and comes in white, black and probably other colors I'm not familiar with). I've never worked with Lexan (great name, tho) or acrylic in VF'ing, thought that's good to know.

To get upholstery, call upholstery shops and find one that will sell it to you w/o ripping you off:

(I couldn't get real foam rubber, but I purchased 1210 polyfoam from an upholstery shop and it seems to be just fine - much better than the abrasive stiff foam they try to sell you at Minnesota Fabrics) The upholstery shop told me that no one has used real foam rubber for 15 years because it is so pricey.

Here is their system as I understand it:

Polyfoam type (density) Properties 1210 Super soft - rarely used - pillow density 1815 Safest cushion density 1825 1835 1845 Firmest cushion density An electric bread knife (carving knife) is great for big cuts, but useless for fine work - good sharp scissors are a must.

From: Ivan Repin

Cutting foam.
Use an electric carving knife or another knife with a sharp blade. A smear of soap as lubrication is useful. I use a tool called a Bosch foam cutter. It is expensive but the best I have tried. The harder grades can be cut with a jigsaw.

Shaping foam
The above tools can also be used for rough shaping but abrasives seen to be the best for final shaping and finishing. A panel beaters hand panel sanding leveling tool with a coarse grade of paper fitted is one useful tool. Another is a hand held belt linisher like a Black and decker powerfile (be careful, this tool works quickly). Hand tools have more control than power tools and there is less likelihood of an accident. Use the good ole sanding block for that final touch. The harder and denser the foam, the more accurate the final shape will be.

Other tools you can use
- electric knife
- sharp kitchen knives
- hot knife
- razorknives
- scissors

You can easily run to a local fabric shop, craft shop, or upholstery shop and grab this stuff. They're sold by the yard, in rolls, as well as in squares and pads in varying widths and thicknesses.