(Newswire.net — September 13, 2013) Anaheim, CA — Move over Styrene, Wood and other traditional materials used to make signage. Enter Expanded PVC Sheet, or Foamed PVC sheet if you prefer. While the standard Type 1 Gray PVC sheet and sheeting became a popular plastic material during the 1950’s, new versions of this plastic material were needed.
While Rigid PVC sheet and Flexible PVC materials for film were growing in popularity, the range of sizes and limitation of the solid sheet were slowing expansion of the material. A wide range of plastics were developed to fill these niche requirements. One of the new plastic products, based on the demand for more diverse and unique application specific plastics during the 1970’s was foam PVC.
PVC Sheet materials are available in a wide range of grades, from Rigid to Expanded Foam. The standard Type 1 Gray PVC is UL 94 V-0 rated for flame retardance, also there are several other grades including CPVC and FM-4910 rated for wet bench fabrication.
One of the most interesting grades of PVC Sheet is the ‘Clear PVC Sheet’, which is a rigid material, and is perfect for applications where you need to see through the material, but still require the chemical resistance or flame retardant rating of the standard Type 1 or Type 2 PVC sheet material.
An opaque White PVC Sheet is also available, it has the same physical properties as the standard Type 1 Rigid PVC Sheet material.
The first ‘Expanded’ or foamed PVC sheet was then developed and produced. The foamed PVC sheet has been called:
- Flat foamed PVC sheet
- Lightweight closed-cell, free foam, rigid PVC Sheet
- PVC Foam Board
- Extruded PVC Foam Sheet
- as well as several other product names
Foam PVC Sheet Tradenames
Foamed PVC sheet materials are now manufactured by some of the largest plastic manufacturers in the United States and Europe, including: Vycom Plastics, Pelram Plastics, Simona Plastics, Kommerling Plastics and many more. The material is sold under a wide range of ‘brand names’ or ‘trade names’, including:
- Celluka
- Celtec
- Foamex
- Foamalite
- Komatex
- Komacel
- Palight
- Signex
- Simopor
- Sintra
- And Many more
Where Expanded PVC Foam Is Used
The Foamed PVC Sheet is an excellent material for use in signage, lightweight printed materials, outdoor and digital printed items. Because the base material is PVC, the foam also has many of the same properties as the Type 1 PVC Sheet materials.
This includes:
1) Exceptional Chemical Resistance
2) Fire Retardant to UL-94 V0
3) Very Easy to Bond, Glue or Weld
4) Easy to cut, drill and fabricate
Over the last several years, the continued advancement in the PVC product line has made the Foamed PVC a more useful product. Because it is a rigid foam sheet, it has exceptional thermal and sound insulation properties compared to its weight. The material has very low moisture absorption and is mold and mildew resistant.
Foam PVC Sheet comes as standard in either White or Black color. But an additional 10 – 15 colors are available from a variety of manufacturers, and may require a minimum order. The standard sheet size is 48″ X 96″, however other sheet sizes are available from several factories. The material is die cuttable, contain no heavy metals, and have excellent UV performance. These lightweight sheets are cost effective and are easy to handle.
With the production of large scale flat bed printers, many Expanded PVC Sheet suppliers now offer an enhanced white surface on a ‘print grade’ Foamed PVC Sheet. This will allow printers to use this material, that has a very smooth surface, as a quality printable substrate. The Foamed PVC sheets yield very high quality work that is stiff and very light weight.
For additional information please contact:
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