Your 3 major foam types for RC planes are EPP EPO and EPS
EPO stands for Expanded PolyOlefin - EPO is my favorite foam, it is mold injection process, very stiff foam, not as light as EPS and EPO but durable, stiff and very easy to glue with CA.
EPS stands for Expanded Polystyrene - EPS foam is the foam used generally for packing, its the foam cups mostly used in fast food chains. Its brittle and hard to glue back, but pretty light in weight.
EPP stands for Expanded polypropylene - light but flexible foam used for combat wings, durable but you need carbon rods to reinforce your EPP foam core.
It is more durable and like a rubber material comparing to the white beaded EPS foam. It is white colored foam available in two different weight densities: 1.3 Ib/ft3 and 1.9 Ib/ft3.Because of it belongs to a type of molded foam, it has a higher density at the surface than the core of the material. Such variation in density distribution causes the hot-wire cut EPP foam sheets being slightly heavier than the sliced sheets.EPP beaded foam is also a type of 'shape memory foam' that it returns to its original shape after being distorted mechanically.Despite that EPP foam was originally developed for impact absorption (e.g. bumpers) in the automotive industry, it is widely use today for building the wing and fuselage sections of RC combat aircrafts.Unlike the EPS foam made model aircrafts, EPP foam models are not suitable for covering with balsa sheets. EPP foam made model aircrafts are often to be covered with tape or a low temperature heat-shrink finishing (e.g. Ultracote).However, EPP foam does has a waxy feel that it really needs to be sprayed with 3M adhesive before applying finishing materials such as the fiberglass reinforced tape or plastic firm.Overall, EPP foam stands on its own probably as the toughest foam that is excellent in withstanding compression, but weak in that for tension loads (i.e. it will tear in tension and requires strapping tape for reinforcement). It is also not as easy to mold due to its high toughness.
EPO FOAM WING PROTOTPYES made by CNC machining from EPO foam blocks
EPO FOAM plane parts mould
OEM Production Business Typical Procedures | ||
1. | Customer send us RFQ, material requirement, foam density, color, quantity,etc | |
2. | Customer send the required part's 3D model, design drawing file, or sample | |
3. | PMPF sales and engineers checking customers' drawing file/samples, offer feedback on design and suggestion, provide quotation for mold tooling and parts. | |
4. | Customer confirm the prices and agree to start mold tooling process | |
5. | PMPF starts mold tooling and prepare raw material for first sample part run | |
6. | Mold tooling completed, first sample run started and send samples to customer for approval | |
7. | Customer's approval of samples and arrange mass production | |
8. | PMPF starts mass production | |
9. | Customer pay off all related cost | |
10. | Arrange shipping and delivery | |
Frequently Asked Questions | ||
What Are the Available EPP Foam Densities and Colors? |
EPP foam material densities we can obtain are: 20g/L (1.25pcf), 30g/L(1.875pcf), 45g/L(2.8pcf), 50g/L(3.125pcf), 60g/L(3.75pcf), 80g/L(5.1pcf), 90g/L(5.625pcf), 100g/L(6.25pcf), 112g/L(7.0pcf), 180g/L(11.25pcf) EPP foam material colors we can obtain are: White, Black, Pink, Grey, Orange, Blue, Yellow, Rose Red |
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What's the normal EPP material purchasing Lead time? | 5-7days | |
What's the normal mold tooling Lead time? | 20-25days | |
What's the normal Lead time for first samples? | 3-5days after the mold tooling completed | |
What's the MOQ? | Normally 1000pcs | |
What's the software PMPF engineering used ? | UG NX10.0, ProE 5.0, Creo 3.0, Solidworks, AutoCad, | |
What's the accepted part drawing file format? | IGS, STEP, SLDPRT, X_T, CATPart | |
What's the min EPP foam wall thickness can be achieved? | 3mm-4mm | |
Whether PMPF can design based on customer's idea and samples? | Yes | |
Whether hand made prototypes available? | Yes, PMPF can make prototypes by CNC machining from EPP foam blocks | |
What's the Payment terms? | 50% T/T Deposit when confirm the order, 50% T/T Balance before delivery | |
What's the accepted shipping terms? | EXW, FOB Shenzhen, CFR, CIF, DDU | |
Whether PMPF can deal with export customs? | Yes, PMPF has export license in China | |
What's PMPF's quality standard? | PMPF company's quality standard is according to ISO/TS 16949 | |
Mobile: +8615818357154 |