Foam Modelling - How To Make Rapid Prototypes

As part of a college assignment we were asked to experiment with prototyping materials.
While working with foam can be a quick way to make multiple models. We found that by separating the models into multiple parts and then pinning the parts together thus making it modular.
It became an even faster prototyping method thanks to the possibility to combine different parts and make an exponential amount of combinations.
Behance page:
bit.ly/2sVmfhi
Audio:
Action Bronson Instrumental- Pouches Of Tuna Remix by Donato
bit.ly/1Pu0u7Y
In Co-operation with Steve Torfs
#diy #design #make

[@AirborneSurfer]

That is some ridiculously detailed work! Hats off to you!

[@RianTouag]

Thank you very much

[@RedRobotCake]

Very well done!

[@da6444]

Great job!

[@MrFox-zz4kx]

Nice editing!

[@hollyroddenbery284]

Need that song in my life to bounce to while I’m using these materials and tools to teach a class to young designers

[@user-gl9sv5xi4b]

Hey, Is this a pur foam? what is the density of it?

[@benwilms3942]

What type of foam is this?

[@RaikenXion]

I'm looking to get into this, i want to make some armor pieces like chest, paudrons, gauntlets, greeves for a 1/6 scale articulated figure. My plan is to coat the foam parts in resin afterward. Or anything that gives it a shiny, metallic finish.

[@notleighton8724]

Watched this in class amazing skills 😊 keep it up

[@RianTouag]

i will, new videos are coming soon. at which school did you see this?

[@Shavinism]

That is impressive dude

[@RianTouag]

thank you

[@MrAnschmidt]

What brand of foam is he using? Got an Amazon link?

[@giuliapiart9437]

Hey where did you buy the piece of foam?
Good job!

[@RobbieTilton]

I also would like to know the answer to this

[@LCHNSQ]

Really nice! What exactly is the name of this material ? cause here in Brazil is such difficult to find it :(

[@manjimaspramod6502]

Can we paint on the foam model?

[@ambarishphatak9272]

What Foam is that , Can you put some references of that ?

[@lagrottedubarbu]

nice work
what kind of foam are you using?
keep up the good work :D

[@tobyrobson6188]

Olivier Chambon should be standard blue foam

[@dizdon]

looks like RenShape

[@RobbieTilton]

the density/consistency seems different from blue foam. I'm also looking for the answer to this.

[@joshhayes3441]

@@RobbieTilton Its urethane foam, density can vary depending on how high-fidelity the model needs to be but I've typically heard it referred to as "High Density Urethane" or "Medium Density Urethane." Blue foam is extruded polystyrene, lots softer, cheaper, and easier to make rough models with but really tough to achieve a really high-quality milled finish that you can get with urethane.

[@DoktorFizzer]

Amazing work! Can u tell me the name and the density of your foam. I’m just a beginner in product design and model building :)

[@dizdon]

looks like RenShape its expensive and is sandable like wood

[@farhoodshekari3809]

You have to use any foam about 10kg/m3 , but its some professional

[@KaraokePubmain]

Foam can be in here www.alibaba.com/product-detail/light-weight-polyurethane-foam-used-to_60447736914.html?spm=a2700.7724838.2017115.61.3f20414fBUOYOr

[@harryo6126]

Great, looks real messy though and maybe bad for health when shaving down the foam, all of those billions of particles.

[@superfluous9726]

Btw if you're doing this a lot, spend the 50 bucks to make a hot wire cutting station

[@frontend5347]

Someone's never seen a hot foam wire cutter in their life or the tools of e.g. shifting lands for "pimp my proxxon". Buy 1 tool for the entire course, save everyone hours of work and focus on the important part of these lessons: designing...

[@hollyroddenbery284]

You absolutely cannot get that kind of quality model using foam and a hot wire. I disagree. Process & craft is a part of design and shouldn’t be excluded. We must teach young designers to be considerate of material & process rather than going for the fastest, easiest, and cheapest as the trophy winner. It’s that mentality that enables us further in the climate crisis hole. Just speaking my peace.

[@frontend5347]

I have to strongly disagree on this. You have to use the tools available to you. This is what allows you to make progress. It's the basic of engineering. Though a hot foam wire cutter can't give you the exact feel of a surface you aim for, you can do >90% of the forming of the shape with it in a very few minutes. What do you achieve if you don't let your student's imagination run wild and give them something to continue and refine their design within minutes, but instead make them waste hours on creatiing a shape, most likely realize they have to adjust and spend again hours on recreating a slightly tweaked version? Why do you think that 3D sculpting has become so popular and is mainly used as a base for mold casting instead of a hand-made master? It's because these are all tools to help you realize what you aim for without wasting time on a process and focus on the results. Try using templates and proper guiding tools with a foam cutter and you'll start to see the difference in spead soon with no loss of quality; on the contrary, you achieve results that become easier to re-create. Just take the scene from 0:33 as an example. With a proper circular foam cutter, you need 1 minute to get the diameter you want (including a cone if you wish so) with mm precise dimensions once you have had a bit of practice. The next 15 seconds in the video cover at least 15 minutes of work instead. Learn effect: 0

[@hollyroddenbery3165]

@@frontend5347 I do see what you're saying & yes, you have a point in terms of the end goal being revisions to design of a prototype. I'll be including both foams & processes in my freshman prototyping class. The class is separate from the freshman class on design & is purely about giving them as many processes for prototyping and technical skill & mechanism building. Another reason I prefer the 10lb urethane design foam is that it works great with vacuum forming & I can usually add on a quick demo of the process directly from a foam prototype. The foam gives a stellar grade A finish with a few (6-7) gesso & sand applications. I'm the process nerd they hired to give em skill ;) background in jewelry and metalsmithing.

[@Joshplv]

​@@hollyroddenbery284 I do find it slightly Ironic that someone is in favour for the use of foam modeling technique and at the same time worried about the climate crisis.
I understand how valuable these prototyping techniques are for fast revisions, especially for complex and dynamic shapes, but I wholeheartedly believe stuff like foam prototype modeling with especially XPS foam to be something that will eventually be replaced with other techniques.
One of the most horrible materials to work with, the higher density stuff is definitely better and slightly more usable but I still dislike them all.

[@dsp4392]

Doesn't look particularly "rapid". CAD software + a cheap 3D printer would churn out these prototypes much faster, cost far less in materials, allow for more experimentation and generate far less waste.