How foam protects against impact: an engineering challenge

A hands-on challenge exploring impact protection and material design

When people think about foam, they often picture simple packaging.

In reality, designing effective foam components requires careful engineering. Material choice, density, structure and fabrication methods all influence how foam behaves under impact.

To mark World Creativity and Innovation Day, Kewell Converters set teams across the business a simple challenge:

Design a foam structure capable of protecting an egg dropped from height.

It sounds straightforward. But the thinking behind it reflects the same principles used when designing components for industries such as aerospace, defence and advanced manufacturing.

What foam conversion involves in engineering

Foam conversion is the process of transforming raw foam materials into engineered components such as:

• protective inserts
• seals and gaskets
• cushioning systems
• technical packaging

Designing these components requires understanding how materials behave in real-world conditions.

Engineers must consider:

• material density and compression behaviour
• shock absorption and energy dissipation
• fabrication techniques and tolerances
• the environment the component will operate in

These same considerations shaped the egg protection challenge.

How the challenge worked

Teams were asked to design a structure capable of protecting an egg during a drop test from a first-floor height.

The objective wasn’t simply to stop the egg breaking. The design also needed to be efficient, lightweight and well thought through.

Teams were deliberately mixed across the business, combining office staff with production engineers. This created a balance between creative thinking and practical experience.

Before any materials were used, each team spent time discussing ideas and agreeing an approach. That early stage proved to be one of the most important.

Different engineering approaches

The teams approached the challenge in different ways.

Some developed a clear concept quickly and moved straight into fabrication. Others took a more iterative approach, exploring different material options and refining their designs as they built.

This closely reflects how engineered components are developed in practice, moving from concept to prototype, then improving performance through testing and adjustment.

Which materials performed best?

Most teams selected a combination of materials commonly used in protective applications:

Convoluted foam
Soft and compressible, ideal for absorbing impact energy.

Foam cord (tubing)
Used to create lightweight structural support.

Thin foam skins and offcuts
Flexible layers used to wrap and reinforce designs.

Double-sided adhesive (DSE)
Used to assemble layered structures.

A consistent finding across teams was that layering materials significantly improved performance.

Why foam absorbs impact so effectively

Foam materials protect fragile components because of their cellular structure.

Inside foam are thousands of tiny air-filled cells. When an impact occurs, these cells compress and deform, spreading the force over a wider area and a slightly longer period of time.

This reduces the peak force transferred to the object being protected.

Engineers can control this behaviour by selecting different foam densities, structures and layering techniques depending on the level of protection required.

This is why foam is widely used in industries such as aerospace, electronics, healthcare and precision manufacturing.

The drop test results

As the challenge progressed, designs were tested by dropping them from height.

The winning team used a relatively simple approach: multiple layers of convoluted foam combined with additional structural reinforcement. The result was effective and reliable.

Other teams experimented with more complex concepts, including parachute-style designs. When these elements were removed to increase the difficulty of the test, performance depended entirely on the core structure.

Not all designs succeeded.

But each test provided valuable insight into how materials behave under impact.

What the teams learned

Despite the simplicity of the challenge, several engineering lessons emerged:

• Layering materials significantly improves impact protection
• Simpler designs often perform more reliably
• Early discussion and planning improves outcomes
• Combining different perspectives leads to better solutions

One team also completed the challenge with only two members, demonstrating how clear roles and teamwork can influence performance.

Why exercises like this matter

Challenges like this highlight the thinking behind engineered products.

Designing protective components is not just about selecting a material. It involves understanding behaviour, testing ideas and refining solutions through iteration.

The same principles apply whether protecting a fragile object, designing an aerospace component or developing packaging for sensitive equipment.

Creativity and engineering go hand in hand

The egg challenge showed that innovation doesn’t always begin with complex systems or advanced tools.

Sometimes it starts with a simple question and a willingness to test ideas.

At Kewell Converters, that mindset underpins how engineering problems are approached every day.

Because behind every successful component is the same process:

Understand the problem.
Test the idea.
Refine the solution.

About the author

Nick Kewell is Managing Director of Kewell Converters, a UK-based foam conversion specialist with more than 50 years of experience in designing and manufacturing engineered foam components for demanding applications.