ARPLANK EPE and EPP Foam Planks
ARPLANK Direct is your source for expanded polyethylene (EPE) and expanded polypropylene (EPP) beaded foam planks. ARPLANK closed-cell foams are easy to fabricate and are widely used as protective packaging products across multiple industries. They are ideal for many applications, including:
- Protective Packaging
- Certified Military and Coast Guard Grade Materials
- Class A compatible—Expendable and Returnable Dunnage
- Sports Field Shock Padding and Playground Underlayment
- Product Cushioning and Protection
- Blocking/Bracing, Crating and Floater/Cushion Pallets
- ESD and Anti-Static Protection
- Lightweight and rugged Case Inserts
- Returnable Containers for Thermal and Insulation Management
- Marine Flotation
- Automotive Components
- Sound and Lighting equipment
ARPLANK foam planks are available in black and white colors and are sold as 6” x 48″ x 72″ planks with varying densities, from ultra-low to very stiff. We can also split our 6” planks into your desired sheet thickness.
| Material | Density, PCF | Plank Size | Thickness | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARPLANK EPE Expanded Polyethylene |
1.3, 1.5, 1.9, 2.3, 2.8, 4.6 | 48" x 72" | 6" | Black, White |
| ARPLANK EPP Expanded Polypropylene |
1.3, 1.9, 2.8, 3.7 | 48" x 72" | 6" | Black, White |
EPP Application Solutions
- Best weight to strength ratio versus any PE foams
- Strain rate sensitive - best at higher drops and high impacts
- Best static loading management versus any PE or XLPE foams
- 212°F service temperature
- High vibration resistance and attenuation properties
EPE Application Solutions
- 50% better post cutting dimensional tolerances
- Broader loading range for the best dynamic cushioning
- Best impact recovery for multiple hit product protection
- Very low abrasion resistance - class A compatible
- Low compression set for better dimensional recovery
ARPAK Expanded Polyethylene (EPE) Foam Planks
ARPAK foam planks are made from high-quality expanded polyethylene (EPE) foam that is extremely resilient, allowing it to withstand multiple impacts without sustaining product damage. It offers strong resistance to chemicals, is lightweight, non-abrasive, and easy to fabricate, making it an outstanding material choice for custom protective packaging and many other applications.
ARPRO Expanded Polypropylene (EPP) Foam Planks
ARPRO (EPP) foam planks are both firm and lightweight, enabling it to outperform other (PE) foams in terms of strength-to-weight ratios. EPP is unique because it does better at higher impact speeds so it can protect heavy yet fragile parts from height drop requirements. EPP is strain rate sensitive and manages more energy the faster and higher the impact. EPP is also ideally suited for high static compressive loading up to 15 psi and high service temperatures up to 212F.
Specialty Foam Options
ARPLANK Direct supplies a variety of specialty foams in Anti-Static (AS) and Fire Retardant (FR) grades, including Grade B Anti-Stat and Grade C Fire Retardant materials. These materials have a longer shelf life than extruded PE foams, are available in multiple densities, and meet stringent military requirements as well as other industry test standards.
Why Arplank?
See What Makes Our EPE and EPP Foam a Step Above the Rest
Superior Cushioning & Durability
The outstanding resilience of EPE and EPP foam is clear. ARPLANK foam has been thoroughly tested for multi-directional impact resistance and compressive strength. They offer excellent multiple drop cushioning and repetitive-strike energy management, making them ideal packaging materials for high-value sensitive products that are fragile, very heavy, or see extreme shipping environment abuse.
All-Around Protection
ARPLANK supplies EPE and EPP foam solutions that are chemical and moisture resistant, have high thermal insulation properties, static load limits, and exceptional dimensional stability, and are non-abrasive with a low coefficient of friction for high gloss Class-A compatible surfaces. That makes them ideal foam dunnage for automotive painted surfaces, powder-coated metal and plastic parts, glass and chrome parts.
Ease of Fabrication
ARPLANK EPE foam planks cut cleaner with tighter tolerances and higher part precision with traditional foam fabrication equipment and methods such as plank splitting, reciprocating knife blade, saws, steel rule die-cutting and waterjet cutting, CNC routing, wire profile cutting, and heat and adhesive laminating. ARPLANK’s two distinct materials offer more fabrication options than many other polyolefin foam products on the market, giving fabricators more design options when customizing foam products for their clients.
Budget Friendly
Since EPE and EPP foam are lower density and can offer lower weight-to-performance ratios when compared to traditional commodity foams, OEMs and designers can often use lighter densities while still optimizing part protection for critical components. Molded bead foams can reduce the shipping cube and package weight, resulting in less expensive shipping classes. This makes ARPLANK foam highly price competitive when compared to other closed-cell foams.
Sustainability
ARPLANK is a leader in source reduction options often leading to less foam, less corrugated packaging, and transportation cost. Packaging sustainability can be complicated, but the most important fact remains that the lowest foam density and packaging cube has the biggest environmental impact and best long-term sustainability.
ARPLANK EPE and EPP foams are 100% melt re-processable, fully recyclable, and have a smaller carbon footprint than other like foams. ARPLANK beaded foam planks are mechanically foamed with an inert gas blowing agent and will not emit any harmful CFC or HCFC gasses back into the environment.
| Item | EPP | EPE | PE | XLPE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product Examples | ARPRO | ARPAK | Extruded PE | Chemical Crosslink |
| Compression Strength | Excellent | Average | Average | Average |
| Durability | Good | Good | Good | Excellent |
| Elasticity | Good | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| Flexibility | Good | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| Tensile Strength | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Good |
| Chemical Resistance | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent |
| Heat Resistance | Excellent | Average | Average | Poor |
| Thermal Insulation | Good | Good | Average | Average |
| Dimensional Stability | Excellent | Average | Average | Poor |
| Dynamic Cushion 1st Drop | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Repetitive Dynamic Cushion | Excellent | Excellent | Good | Good |
| Contains HCFCs or VOCs | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Amount of VOCs | N/A | N/A | Varies | Varies |
Working with ARPLANK Foam
We Make Fabrication Easy
Packaging engineers, designers, and foam fabricators enjoy more material options and have broader design latitude when using steam chest molded EPE and EPP plank products. This is because the material’s high-performance base resins and steam chest molded plank manufacturing process produce very predictable physical properties.
If you need better packaging protection at the best value, ARPLANK EPE products outperform extruded Polyethylene (PE) or chemically crosslinked (XLPE) foams on a pound-for-pound basis. Because Molded EPE planks have identical properties in all impact and compression directions, they significantly reduce costly shipping damage in the toughest of material handling environments. Fabricated EPE molded foam plank materials result in highly predictable and consistent components every time they are produced.
ARPLANK Foam is Easy to Fabricate with Standard Industry Cutting Equipment
- Horizontal Roll Splitters and Vacuum Skivers
- Manual and Automatic Steel Rule Die Presses
- Water Jet Machines
- CNC Routers
- Foam or Wood Saws
- Reciprocating Knife Tables/Flash Cutter
- All Heat Bonding and Adhesive Laminations
- Compression Molding
- Slabbing and Downcutting Hot Wire
- CNC Abrasive Wire Contour Cutting
The Ease of Fabricating with ARPLANK Foam
- Solid 6” planks for maximum yields, fewer layers, and tighter compound tolerances
- Significantly less concavity after die-cutting makes for tighter fitting parts
- Materials bond very well with hot air, hot melt glues, spray adhesives, PSA tapes, and contact cement
- Bead foams have more surface area than extruded PE, creating stronger bonds between laminated parts
