Hello O&P colleagues,
I am in the process of fabricating a foam lined AFO for a patient and have
always had trouble when molding plastic directly over foam, in that the heat
of the plastic squashes the foam down to almost nothing in some areas of the
cast. We’ve been trying different methods to remedy this and I’d like to
see what ideas you may have that might be better, easier, or both.
For this latest AFO, I modified the cast and molded 3/16″ foam over it
(actually, heated the foam and stapled the foam on the anterior aspect of
the cast).
I then wrapped the whole thing with Saran wrap to protect it and casted the
foam-covered positive model, then poured it — so now i have a plaster
representation of the original model plus the thickness of the foam.
My plan was to mold polypro over this new positive model, trim it the way
i’d like, then apply glue to the foamed cast and the plastic brace and put
’em together while the glue is wet. I’d then tape the whole thing together
so nothing could move and let the glue dry. My thought was that the foam
inside the finished brace would then be full-thickness and perfectly
installed without wrinkles or other mess-ups (all of which I have done in
the past!)
Is there a glue that would be appropriate for fabricating the AFO in this
way? Most of the stuff we have here is contact cement-type stuff and
results have been only okay so far. Are there better glues than can be used
“wet” for this type of application?
Thanks in advance for your insights and suggestions! I will of course share
them with the list so that all may benefit.
Bill Lifford, CP
Progressive O&P, Inc.
1111 Willis Avenue, Albertson, NY, 11507
516-338-8585
www.progoandp.com
