What are some advantages of foam patterns?

Dimensional Accuracy …
Wax having cross-sections greater than 10mm typically need chills.

Excellent Surface Finish

Lighter Weight than Wax

Less Cost than 3D-Printed patterns

No Chills required for thick sections

Dimensional Stability

Computer Controlled Process

With our equipment, mix ratio, mixing speed, injection speed, shot size and individual job parameters can all be individually adjusted and stored for pattern-to-pattern consistency. Programs can be copied from machine to machine and backed up by your network backup system.

Dimensional Accuracy

Long shelf life, no warping, robust, not affected by humidity, and setting fixtures are not required.

Thin Sections

Patterns stay straighter and flatter.

Excellent Surface Finish

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Lighter Weight

At 15lbs/cu.ft. Foam Patterns are approximately 60% lighter than wax patterns.

Cost Less

Pattern wax can cost more than $5/lb. While liquid foam also costs about $5/lb., it expands more than 5:1, so foam patterns can be 50% the cost of wax patterns or less!

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Less Scrap

Cured foam is resilient and does not break with moderate flexing. This allows for less breakage during demolding.

No Chills

​Pattern foam can be cast in sections up to 4 in. / 100 mm thick with no appreciable deformation.

Dimensions are not affected by Heat or Moisture in a normal foundry environment

​In typical pattern storage conditions, foam patterns may be stored for many months without dimensional change, sagging, or distortion. Temperature/humidity controlled pattern production/storage rooms are not required.

Ceramic Shell Cracking Virtually Eliminated

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Less Costly Injection Equipment

A wax injection press can cost $200,000 or more. Our equipment and accessories cost less than that.

Robust Tree Assembly

With our proprietary assembly and patching paste products, damaged areas can be repaired, material can be added as desired, and assembly time can be reduced. ​

Gating Advantages

Foam Patterns become more and more cost effective as cross sections increase. Also, incorporating gating molds into your tooling program reduces cost and time for repetitive production orders. Innovative tree designs and self-registering gating joints can improve tree consistency and strength.

Efficient Tooling

Molds can be designed for common runner and riser shapes and used on multiple projects.

This casting is 710 x 510 x 460 mm x 3mm wallstock. The geometry was so thin that the the wax froze off before the mold was full, and the pattern was so weak, that it was unable to be demolded without breakage.

We were able to inject the mold with our rigid foam to produce successful patterns and castings.

Thin wall sections …
Our digital injection system uses hydraulic pressure to inject the liquid urethane foam. Also, during the reaction the foam expands 4-5 times creating significant internal pressure depending on the user-determined shot size and mold venting techniques. So between those two features, good results can be achieved for every pattern.