Foamed core makes pallet extra strong

Novo Foam Products LLC has developed a high-tech twist to conventional twin-sheet vacuum thermoforming to produce a new line of extra-strong shipping pallets, the Air Ride Pallet. In the process, two sheets of TPO are simultaneously formed around a core of expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam. Because the sheet and the foam are both polypropylene based, an excellent melt bond is achieved over the entirety of both surfaces of the foam core. At the same time, the pre-formed core helps to shape the heated exterior sheets by directing them into the two mold halves. The resulting panel is light in weight, structurally strong, stiff and dimensionally stable. Its surface can be tailored at the extrusion stage for such characteristics as color, texture and grain. The pallets feature a truly flat deck, with ground clearance provided by nine integrally formed feet.

Novo Foam selected Solvay Engineered Polymers’ Sequel E3000 TPO for the top and bottom surfaces of the pallet. The TPO has excellent low-temperature impact resistance and superior dimensional stability. Solvay is doing computer-aided engineering work in order to advance the process and identify future applications.

“The process itself can be adapted to existing thermoforming equipment, without any proprietary hardware,” says Tom Bohan, managing partner of Novo Foam Products. “We expect that the possibilities will expand as Solvay develops more materials for the exterior surfaces.”

Bohan says one of the current challenges is the development of a Class A finish with the process, either by using paint or some other surface technology such as film or a high-gloss laminate. Possible automotive applications include structural panels such as tonneau covers, load floors, trunk decks and RV floors.

Solvay Engineered Polymers, Inc. 248-391-9521