Different Types of Foam and Their Uses

Choosing the right foam is critical because it directly affects product performance, cost, and user experience. Each application, such as packaging, construction, sports gear, or furniture, requires a specific type of foam that meets functional and structural needs. Understanding foam types and their uses helps designers and manufacturers create better, safer, and more efficient products while meeting specific technical and market requirements.

What Is Foam?

Foam is a lightweight, porous material created by expanding plastics, rubber, or other polymers to form a structure filled with countless tiny air pockets. These air pockets give foam its distinctive characteristics, including excellent thermal insulation, sound absorption, shock resistance, and vibration damping. Depending on how the cells inside the foam are structured, foams are generally classified into two types: open-cell and closed-cell.

Open-cell foam has interconnected pores, allowing air and moisture to pass through easily. This type is softer, more flexible, and ideal for applications needing breathability and cushioning, such as furniture padding and acoustic panels. Closed-cell foam, on the other hand, features sealed, non-connected cells. It is more rigid, waterproof, and provides better insulation and impact resistance. This makes it suitable for applications such as flotation devices, thermal insulation, and packaging.

Each foam type offers a specific balance of weight, strength, and performance, depending on the manufacturing process and the materials used. By adjusting factors like cell size, density, and additives, manufacturers can fine-tune foam properties for highly targeted applications.

Main Foam Types & Uses

1. EVA Foam (Ethylene Vinyl Acetate)

Properties: EVA is a copolymer foam made by chemically cross-linking ethylene and vinyl acetate. Its closed-cell structure keeps it lightweight and flexible, while the vinyl acetate content provides excellent rebound and cushioning. Cross-links boost tear strength and help it resist wear, compression and impact—even under repeated stress.

Applications: EVA is commonly used in shoe insoles for cushioning, sports equipment for shock absorption, and children's toys due to its softness and safety features.

2. PU Foam (Polyurethane)

Properties: PU foam forms when polyols react with diisocyanates, creating a cross-linked polymer network. In its open-cell form, it's breathable and soft; closed-cell variants add moisture resistance and stiffness. The foam's cellular structure and cross-links give it resilience and shape-memory, so it rebounds after compression, delivers lasting comfort, and resists wear over time.

Applications: PU is widely used in furniture cushions, mattresses, and protective packaging, offering comfort, durability, and strong impact resistance for various applications.

3. PE Foam (Polyethylene)

Properties: PE foam is made by chemically or physically cross-linking polyethylene to form a dense, closed-cell matrix. This structure traps gas bubbles, giving the foam its waterproof, shock-absorbing, and chemical-resistant qualities. Despite its high density, it remains lightweight and offers excellent tensile strength and durability—ideal for protective packaging, bumpers, and sports gear.

Applications: It is ideal for transport packaging, bumpers, and protective sports gear, where moisture resistance and impact protection are essential.

4. Rubber Foam

Properties: Rubber foam offers excellent heat resistance, slip resistance, and vibration damping. It stays flexible in a wide temperature range and harsh environments.

Applications: It is used in seals and gaskets, anti-vibration pads, and protective sports guards, particularly where durability and temperature resistance are critical.

5. PVC Foam

Properties: PVC foam is produced by blending PVC resin with a blowing agent, creating a fine, closed‐cell microstructure. Its rigid cell walls lock out moisture and resist solvents, oils, and many chemicals. Despite its strength and stiffness, it stays lightweight and can be cut, routed, or thermoformed with standard tools. The result is a versatile panel material that combines load-bearing capacity with easy fabrication and low maintenance.

Applications: It is widely used in construction panels, exhibition booths, and signage that require durability, easy installation, and low maintenance.

6. TPE Foam (Thermoplastic Elastomer)

Properties: TPE foam is produced by foaming a thermoplastic elastomer—a block copolymer combining hard (plastic) and soft (rubber) segments. This yields a predominantly closed-cell structure with flexible skin layers, giving the foam excellent rebound and low compression set. Its thermoplastic base means it can be melted and reformed, making it fully recyclable. TPE foam stays soft and cushioning under load, resists oils and chemicals, and retains shape over a wide temperature range—ideal for ergonomic grips, gaskets, and vibration-damping pads.

Applications: It is commonly used for soft pads, ergonomic grips, and cushioning components in consumer goods where comfort and resilience are required.

7. IXPE Foam (Electron-Crosslinked Polyethylene)

Properties: IXPE is made by exposing polyethylene to an electron beam, which creates tight molecular cross-links inside the foam. This process gives IXPE its closed-cell structure, making it non-toxic, odorless, and flame-retardant. The cross-linking also boosts tear strength and resilience, so the foam resists compression set and bounces back after impact. It's waterproof, sound-insulating and shock-absorbing, with smooth surfaces available in widths from 60 to 200 cm, thicknesses of 1.5 to 12.7 mm and densities from 0.03 to 0.3 g/cm³.

Applications: It is used in soundproofing, waterproof mats, thermal insulation, sports mats, helmets, medical padding, automotive parts, flotation devices, and anti-static products.

8. Secondary (Re-)Foaming Materials

Properties:These materials are produced by reprocessing or combining primary foams to achieve customized performance properties. This process fine-tunes density, thickness, and mechanical properties.

Applications: They are used in specialized applications where customized material performance is required, such as complex cushioning structures, hybrid protective layers, or reinforced foam composites.

How to Choose the Right Foam

Choosing the right foam starts with a clear understanding of the material's properties and how they match the product's end-use needs. Key factors include density, hardness, elasticity, and abrasion resistance. Higher-density foams provide better load-bearing and impact protection, while softer foams offer greater cushioning and flexibility.

For applications needing waterproofing or insulation, closed-cell foams are preferred. Durability, flexibility, weight, and environmental resistance should all be matched carefully to the product's specific functional requirements.

Beyond material properties, the manufacturing process also plays a major role in foam selection. Different processes impact not only the material's final characteristics but also the cost and design flexibility.

• Traditional Foaming: Suitable for simple shapes with lower production costs, often used for standard EVA foam sheets and blocks.
• Injection Foam Molding: Ideal for complex designs and tight dimensional tolerances, allowing precise control over foam density and structure.
• Small-Mold Foaming: Best for applications requiring accurate size control but relatively simple shapes, such as standard EVA components.
• Two-Component (PU Pouring) and PU Injection: Two-component foaming produces high-density, durable, and highly elastic PU parts. PU pouring, on the other hand, is used to create sealed, shape-stable components, ideal for protective equipment that requires a robust outer surface and internal cushioning.

Selection Examples:

• For EVA foam products, traditional foaming works for simple structures, small-mold foaming suits designs needing tight tolerances, and injection foaming handles complex, high-precision profiles.
• For PU foam, two-component foaming is chosen for durable, high-resilience cushions, while PU pouring is ideal for producing sealed components that resist deformation, such as those used in sports or medical protective gear.

Final Thoughts: Choosing the Right Foam

Choosing the right foam comes down to matching material properties and processing methods to your product’s demands. Density, elasticity, durability, and manufacturing technique all directly impact the performance, durability, and cost-effectiveness of the final product. Whether you need cushioning, impact resistance, insulation, or waterproofing, careful material and process selection is key to delivering reliable, high-quality results.

For custom foam solutions—antimicrobial, CE-certified, shock-absorbing, and more—PHINOMENAL offers expert support across EVA, PU, rubber, IXPE, and re-foamed materials.

Contact PHINOMENAL today to build better, stronger products.