A lightweight foamed metal which is also self-skinning. Originally developed with aeronautical applications in mind, this material has great casting capabilities. It achieves great volume and strength whilst using minimal resources. In fact the honeycomb effect found within the foam bubble matrix actually increases the structural integrity of the materials due to the random diffusion of stress lines.
For applications where energy absorption is important, the main competitor of zinc foam is aluminum foam. One disadvantage of aluminum foams is that they cannot be produced in Diecasting at this time.The strength of Zinc Diecastings in shear, in torsion, under bending and in compression are all far superior to aluminium, magnesium and plastics.
Two methods for foaming metals were used in early days; In the first of these, gas is injected continuously to create foam. In the second method, gas-releasing propellants are added to the melt, akin to the blowing agents of the plastic foam industry or indeed the yeast of the baker