GyFoam: Fabricating Lattice Foam with Customizable Stiffness through Uniform Expansion
summary
GyFoam combines Thermo-Expandable Microspheres, silicone, dissolvable PVA latticed molds and standard 3D printers to produce foam that shows uniform expansion (contrast: solid samples reached 150°C surface vs 63°C interior) and predictable expansion scaling (measured positive correlation between microsphere concentration and volumetric expansion, up to 20× volume). Stiffness is tunable by microsphere concentration and gyroid lattice parameters, modeled with a Gibson–Ashby fit to predict customizable stiffness. Prototypes include pillows, mattress, insoles, a flat-to-curve knee pad and a modular keyboard; the method works as demonstrated.
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