Foam and Foam Core

Foam

Foam is a great tool for testing more complex shapes and design ideas, as it is very versatile and allows for subtractive manufacturing, in a similar manner to what is done in a machine shop. The main difference however is that for one, foam is much cheaper, and two, foam can be manipulated with sandpaper, a hot-knife, and other simple hand tools. A showcase of some of the possibilities using foam is shown below. For more details click the image and look through what Anand Patel was able to create simply using foam.

Foamcore

Foamcore is very similar to cardboard in that it is relatively cheap and easy to manipulate/form into shapes and objects with limited time and tools. However foamcore is known for looking a bit more polished/cleaner. It is very useful when creating looks-like prototypes that focus on the shape and feel of a given design. With a little bit of glue, time, and cutting you are able to create almost any shape needed. For more info on how to shape and use foamcore check out the Youtube creator Eric Strebel.