- Material: IXPE foam
- Expansion ratio: 20 times (50±6 kg/m³), 25 times (40±4 kg/m³), 30 times (33.3±3 kg/m³)
- Thickness: 1 mm, 2 mm, 3 mm (thickness can be customized)
- Colour: white, skin tone (colour can be customized)
- Flame retardant grade: UL94 HF-1
Customization
Made to order: density, thickness, colour and shape to your drawing. Die-cutting, CNC routing, lamination to film or fabric, slitting and adhesive coating all run in-house, so the part we quote is a finished part, not just a sheet. How a custom part is cut and routed explains what to send with the drawing.
Regular material: MOQ 1,000 m², lead time 15–20 days from order confirmation. Custom parts are quoted from the drawing. A4 samples are free, shipping included.
Medical tape foam is the foam layer in a medical adhesive product – the backing behind a dressing, a fixation tape or a device attachment pad. It has to do three things at once: stay comfortable against skin for days at a time, come away without leaving fibre debris, and hold its position without the adhesive failing.
Features
- Comfortable in long wear: the foam core is soft and conformable, so the tape does not pull or pinch over a joint or a curved surface.
- Closed-cell, so it does not absorb or wick: the cells are sealed, so liquid cannot enter and the foam does not become a reservoir for contamination.
- Conformable at 1 mm to 3 mm: thin enough to follow a contour, thick enough to cushion and to absorb the movement of the skin underneath.
- Three densities: 20× (50±6 kg/m³), 25× (40±4 kg/m³) and 30× (33.3±3 kg/m³), so firmness and conformability can be balanced for the application.
- Clean converting: the sheet cuts, punches and laminates predictably, which suits automated converting lines.
- Flame retardant grade: UL94 HF-1 available.
One claim we have to correct: closed-cell foam is not breathable. XPE and IXPE cells are sealed and do not interconnect, so air cannot pass through the foam layer – breathability cannot be provided by the foam itself. Where breathability is a design requirement, it is achieved in the adhesive system and the finished construction: a perforated backing, a breathable adhesive layer, or a mesh-formed foam. Those are converting steps and have to be specified together with the adhesive. What the closed cells do give you is the other half of the same property: no wicking, no absorption and no swelling as the dressing takes on moisture.
Applications
- Wound dressings and fixation tapes
- Catheter and cannula fixation
- Wearable device attachment pads
- Electrode backing and monitoring patches
- Orthopaedic padding and strapping
Specifications for medical tape, where the backing has to be soft against skin and clean at the edges
Tape foam is a backing material: the sheet has to be uniform in thickness, hold an adhesive coat and conform to the surface it is applied to.
| Foam | Expansion | Apparent density | Single-layer thickness | Why this grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IXPE | 20–30× | 33.3–50 kg/m³ | 0.1–15 mm | The usual backing grade, because the fine cell structure gives a uniform thickness across a wide web and single layers down to 0.1 mm. |
| XPE | 20–30× | 33.3–50 kg/m³ | 3–15 mm | Firmer backing where the tape also has to fill a gap or take a compression load. |
Base material specifications are on the XPE, IXPE and IXPP material pages; finished products are on the XPE foam and IXPE foam pages. Tell us the load, the space available and the service temperature and we will confirm the grade against your drawing.
Why Choose Bofeng Foam
We supply the IXPE backing at 20×, 25× or 30× foaming in 1 mm, 2 mm and 3 mm, in white or skin colour, to UL94 HF-1 where required. The foam is supplied as the backing material for a converter to coat; the choice of adhesive and the finished product's regulatory position are set by the converter and the adhesive system, not by the foam alone. We will confirm the foam grade, the gauge tolerance and the batch documentation that accompanies it against the requirement you state. The base material is on the IXPE foam page, and skin-contact considerations are discussed under medical grade foam.
Conclusion & Inquiry
Tell us the skin-contact duration, the adhesive system and the converting process, and we will confirm the backing grade and gauge. Contact us for samples.
