(laser-friendly, of course)
My Google Fu is failing me so thought I’d ask for help 
Anyone know the right search criteria or vendor to find something like this red-white foam?
It’s what you would use as box/drawer liners, usually to store tools. In my case it would be coins (which is how it’s used in the photo) so I’m not really after something as robust as Kaizen foam. Ideally it would be two-tone, like in the photo, but beggars/choosers…
Could you use interlocking floor mats or EVA foam? Not sure they still carry it but Joann’s used to sell it for cosplay. Much cheaper only but you could go lay eyes on it and see if it would work.
Is this a soft foam? Or more rigid like styrofoam with a red top?
@michleon100 I think EVA would work, the only catch being that it seems to be sold in fairly thin sheets (and/or massive rolls) and I’m looking for something like a letter-sized chunk that’s about 1" thick. But yeah, I might have to go with something from the Creatology foams line at Michaels and then stack them to get the right height.
@stepho This tends to be softer and with tighter cells, at least compared to the PE foam that you might use in a tool box.
I’m also toying with the idea of just getting ring holder inserts like this and calling it a day… But I think a coin-specific solution would look better.
The ring holder foam things like that are pretty good. They tend to hold rings reasonably securely, but also have enough play that you can fit some thick bands into them. They aren’t very deep, though
Ah, good to know! The coins are almost exactly 1.5" in diameter, guess I’d have to test it out to see if it’ll hold them.
My wedding band measures about 0.75” in diameter, and fully inset into a similar ring holder, it comes to about where I’ve drawn the red line.
Depending on what you need. I know some people will use interlocking foam floor pads (gym pads) as a cheap substitute for EVA. Might also be thicker.
I would use foam and if you want the red topping use flocking material (woodcraft/rockler). But if youre looking to make tge box is hard to beat this: Amazon.com.
@stepho Oof, that’s pretty shallow! Thanks for the heads-up. I’ve since stumbled on something similar but for bracelets, measuring at a bit over 1" thick. That might work better.
@michleon100 Hmm, that has potential, and I like the thickness. I’m gonna have to look up the MSDS or some other list of materials/contents to see how laser-safe it would be though
@JOSEGAYTAN That’s a good idea for covering up the top, I still have some leftover flocking and glue I could use. And yup, that box is pretty much what I’m looking to recreate. I just happen to need specific dimensions, which is why I’ve been going down the custom insert route.
Haven’t seen the two tone. Might be a coating e.g. a spray on coating like rubber or plastidip?
On Amazon you can buy several thicknesses of Polyethylene Foam Sheet. I got 12x16x1” black for a packaging project a couple years ago. Cut fine on the laser.
Good luck.
I would recommend 2 lb/cu ft crosslink PE foam from Cross-Linked Polyethylene Foam | Foam Factory, Inc.
Their Minicel-L XLPE is a bit softer, but almost the same
Minicel-L EVA is notably softer
How much foam did you need, and what color? I’ve got tons of black 1.5".
The red is likely a coating, possibly an adhesive tape layer applied ahead of time
I have a 4" lens for Tarkin which is surprisingly effective at making high-quality straight-walled cuts all the way down 1.5" thick crosslink foam. It requires special bed hold-downs.
The OP foam looks fairly rigid. The Minicel-T EVA from the Foam Factory is more flexible and soft. Think like the stuff used in floatation devices and the padding in sports equipment. I’ve got three different densities in white, but only 1/2". I don’t remember it cutting real well on the laser. Maybe because it’s white…
Or maybe I just needed a 4" lens. How does that work? A greater aperture, longer focal length.
Foam color does not matter to CO2’s 10.6um wavelength.
2" lens does not have the right angle of incidence to form a channel necessary for cutting outside the depth of focus. 4" lens creates a channel and captures the beam easily. However, due to diffraction limits, a 4" lens creates a focal point 2x larger dia- one quarter the energy density. So, 4" lens performs poorly for normal cutting. Deep foam is the one case I know where it performs better, and is actually essential and also rather impressive in what it does.
On 1.5" 2lb crosslink PE foam, the walls are straight and there’s only a 0.75mm expansion of the kerf on the bottom
@clayD @dannym @beirdo Thank you all for the suggestions!
Danny, I need about 12x7 and 1.5" thickness would work for me (I’m working on just one box). The two-tone thing aside, I’m not dead-set on any particular colour so black would absolutely do the job – I very much appreciate the offer!
That said, if the lens/hold-downs stuff is a pain to set up and work with, I’m happy to go with one of the other, thinner options that I cut & stack afterwards.
You can get EVA foam in different thicknesses. Here’s a place with 1" EVA:
Don’t know about “foam” but the top layer looks like Rowmark Lasermax layered acrylic:
https://www.jpplus.com/rowmark-lasermax-engraving-plastic?sku=LM942602-SHT
Huh! That’s very interesting… I’m not opposed to having a stack of materials for this purpose. Thanks!
