Metal Foams: A Design Guide

Case studies 233
which optimized skin structures are compared, and illustrated by the case
studies of Sections 17.1, 17.2 and 17.4. There are many more instances in
which stiffness at low weight are sought. They include loudspeaker casings,
display boards, overhead racks and folding tables in aircraft and in high-speed
trains.
Furniture has to be light to be moveable; ‘high-tech’ fashion favors a
metallic appearance. Metal foams with integral skins can be handled by many
of the processes familiar to the furniture maker: cutting with bandsaws, joining
with wood screws and adhesives, polishing to give attractive texture and
surface finish. There appears to be potential for exploiting metal foams in
furniture construction.
Cores for castings
Complex foam parts can replace sand cores used in foundry practice, to
produce weight-saving cavities in casting. In this case the foam part will
remain in the casting, saving labor and energy costs associated with the
removal of the sand. In this way completely enclosed lightweight sections can
be produced in castings which lead to significant improvements in mechanical,
vibration and acoustic properties compared with the original hollow part.
Aesthetic applications
Metal foams appeal to industrial designers because of their surface texture,
because they are novel (carrying associations of uniqueness) and because of
their combination of light weight with bulk (giving reassurance of solidity in
structures which are easily moved).