CNC Foam Cutting vs CNC Routering for 2D Parts
Our Key Challenges
The customer needed thousands of 2D foam trees for displays at stores. Our routers couldn't keep up.
Thankfully, our customer bought into our idea, and the results were outstanding.
We can offer the CNC foam-cutting service for your company's needs.
This service is tailored for your specific needs.
We will improve based on customer input to ensure a positive experience.
Key Figures of
Cutting Process Times
Insight into the core numbers that define our work:
a detailed overview of key metrics of our cutting times
9600
PARTS TO CUT
1200
XPS SHEETS
24hrs
ROUTER CUT TIME
Altar’d State
Our client is a rapidly growing women's fashion and lifestyle brand, founded in 2009 and headquartered in Maryville, Tennessee.
The Challenge
A national retail customer approached us with a massive order: 9,600 foam display parts — primarily 2D tree shapes — to be installed in hundreds of stores across the country.
Initially, we tried to meet the demand using our CNC routers, but two major issues surfaced:
- Speed bottlenecks – routers could only process one sheet at a time, each taking 12 minutes to cut.
- Poor paintability – the routered foam surfaces absorbed too much finishing paint, resulting in inconsistent aesthetics and added labor.
It became clear that our current setup wouldn’t keep up — either in time or quality.
The Pivot: Switching to CNC Foam Cutting
To solve the problem, we moved to a dedicated hotwire CNC foam cutter. This machine allowed us to cut 64 sheets in a single run, drastically improving throughput. Our customer
However, this switch wasn’t plug-and-play. The nature of hotwire cutting meant we had to redesign any part that had internal cutouts ("isles") to allow for wire entry and exit. This redesign effort was significant — but essential.
"When the team at Wired4Signs USA proposed switching to CNC foam cutting, we trusted their expertise — and we're glad we did. The quality was excellent, the turnaround was fast, and they delivered 9,600 parts exactly when we needed them."
The Results
✅ 9600 Parts Completed On Time
Using 1.5" foam sheets, each 4'x8' sheet yielded 8 parts Total of 1,200 sheets processed
✅ Production Efficiency Jumped >5×
- Router: 12 minutes per sheet
- Foamcutter: 76 minutes per 64-sheet batch
- Throughput increased exponentially, with fewer operator interventions
✅ Superior Paint Finish
- Hotwire-cut surfaces were clean and sealed, eliminating the router’s issue of excessive paint absorption
- No primer required, resulting in reduced material and labor costs