Foam Packaging Inserts

CNCROi.com can make foam packaging inserts of any size, shape and even material spec you require for your business.

For this specific foam packaging inserts project, CNCROi.com is making them so that the customer can ship the parts back and forth for further processing (anodizing etc. ) without the parts getting damaged in transit.

If this job looks familiar, it’s because we made a prototype for the customer a little earlier in the process, so they can double check the fit, form and function of this foam insert, you’ll see there were a few design changes based on this evaluation.

For this project, CNCROi.com is using our CNC router, it’s among the last projects we actually do with this machine as the shop now has a Thermwood CNC router that will be taking over once it’s fully commissioned.

There are several passes involved with the production of these foam packaging inserts, each step, is a little deeper into the foam, this way we don’t have quality issues with this material – working your way down produces the best results on this material.

What you see being made now are the trenches, these are actually where you’ll put your fingers to grab the parts that go in the pockets which will be machined next in these foam packaging inserts.

The production of these foam packaging inserts can happen in a variety of thicknesses, so you aren’t stuck with only one profile or depth across the entire product that we machine for you.

Although completely unrelated to packing foam inserts, this gives you an idea of the level of detail we can carved into these, if required, at CNCROi.com.

What’s really nice about these foam packaging inserts is that they weight practically nothing, you don’t want inserts that weight a ton as the money is to be spent in the parts, not the packaging!

What’s nice about this foam is that it breaks apart while being cut, meaning I don’t have long streams of material that clog-up my dust system… so yes, this material is very nice to work with and it’s being held down by my vacuum system.

Of course, this foam is very easy on machinery in general, especially the bit that CNCROi.com uses to make these foam packaging inserts, there is just about no heat generated so the carbide will pretty much last forever.

Of course, if you want something super rigid to hold your parts, CNCROi.com can make that as well.

You can see on the back of this foam sheet some black chips, this is actually HDPE and although it machines like a dream, when you are flattening it, it produces long strands of “hair” which essentially clog pipes and everything else.

You can see in the image below how the foam packaging inserts are programmed, each step produces a new level of detail for the project.

You can see that I also have screws in the corner of the foam, the reason for this, is that the vacuum loses power the more holes I poke through, and there isn’t just a profile cut from these inserts but each pocket also has a hole, to both reduce weight and to make it easy to pop out a part if it gets stuck.

When it comes to foam packaging inserts, you’ll see that each one is basically being made one at a time, as such, the inserts don’t have to all be the same, completely different sizing and specs, as long as the thickness is the same for the sheet it’s being cut from, works fine with us!

Foam is a wonderful material to work with in this capacity when it comes to shipping inserts, because its rigid enough to maintain it’s shape and hold parts without folding on you, while at the same time, being able to provide protection to the milled parts in all directions, as these will be stacked one on top of the other, as such, no damage can occur unless the package gets run over by a forklift.

Most of the foam we work with at the shop is actually black, but for this job, all we could find, in the limited quantities required, was pink… so that’s what the customer got!

Carving out holes is the semi-final process for these foam packaging inserts, afterwards, it will be cutting them out so that the finished inserts are ready to be shipped, empty, to the customer to use in their production setting.

There isn’t much particles of pink foam on or around the machine while machining these foam packaging inserts because its so light that it gets sucked-up right away, unlike the HDPE where the chips like to lock into one another and as a result, clog things up.

What’s great about this foam is that the results are so smooth and effortless for this machine, compared to the red oak and harder plastics and materials we generally use for it, if I could, I’d love to do this type of work at CNCROi.com everyday, 24/7 at the shop.

Remember, I still have the vacuum system working, but as more and more of the foam is machined away, it begins to lose power due to all the leaking happening in and around the foam.

There is an endless variety of foams that we can make inserts from, for this specific project, we needed something relatively rigid for the aluminium parts, so the foam you see in the video below wasn’t a good fit, though it’s perfect for drawer inserts!

Now that this foam packaging inserts production run is finished, you can see the results, each is identical, well within spec as specified by the customer and we are now ready to do the next project on the CNCROi.com docket.

Taking a closer loo, you can see the surface that was machined is perfect for milled parts, there is nothing sharp, hard or protruding that could possibly damage the parts, even if they shift around, they are completely surrounded by the foam packaging inserts.

These foam packaging inserts are now ready to be shipped to the customer as/is, there is no additional work required.

Need custom foam packaging inserts? Contact CNCROi.com right now!