EPP (Expanded Polypropylene) is made in a multi-step process that begins by combining polypropylene resin with special additives, then processing the material to form individual plastic beads, which may range from 4mm to 6mm in diameter, depending on the grade. These individual beads are then injected into a steam chest mold, where the individual beads are fused together under steam heat and pressure.
The resulting moulded product is a remarkably durable, yet resilient solid material.
EPP foam is flexible (semi-rigid) and light in weight, and was originally designed for
automotive energy management applications, and for computer packaging as a
cushioning material. EPP absorbs energy over and over again without denting or breaking.
EPP is a closed cell foam.
It is effective across a wide temperature range (-40° to +100°) and has high chemical resistance to petrol, acetones and most chemicals found around the shop or home.
EPP is virtually unaffected by exposure to water, and is extremely buoyant, which makes it useful in marine applications
EPP is environmentally friendly. It can be recycled easily, and no toxic chemicals are used in its manufacture.
While EPP closely resembles expanded polystyrene, the white foam sometimes used in packaging, there is no comparison in structural strength.
EPP is used for a range of applications in the automotive industry for components such as energy absorbers in bumpers, side impact protection, column covers, knee protection, seating structures, consoles, tool kits, parcel shelves and more.
EPP can be cut with a saw or hot wire.
Cutting EPP with a hot wire is similar to cutting EPs with a hot wire but slower. At high densities EPP will tent to melt So try to keep the temperature of the cutting wire as low as possible, and also the cutting speed should be slow.
Typically EPP cutting speed is about 10"/min where EPS can be 20 to 40"/min
