We have our products manufactured by a world-leading manufacturer of polyolefin foams in Germany. The acoustic underlays of the VISCOH family consist of the highest quality, closed-cell, physically cross-linked polyolefin foams, which are produced in continuous rolls with a foamed skin on both sides. They belong to the class of high-performance underlays and have viscoelastic properties.This is what the name VISCOH stands for.
VISCOH AIR and VISCOH ONE are produced in a complex, three-stage manufacturing process. The three stages, extrusion, crosslinking and foaming are shown schematically in the following pictures (click for details):
In this first production step, the starting material is mixed with additives and extruded to form a raw foam sheet. At this stage, the precursor is still very stiff and inflexible.
In this production step, the foam membrane is scanned with a high-energy electron beam and physically crosslinked in the process. This binds the polymer chains together at specific points and gives the product its unique material structure.
In the final production step, the crosslinked starting material is foamed to its final thickness – which gives it its elasticity and damping properties – before it is finally assembled and packaged.