German plastic and polyurethane foams industry association Fachverband Schaumkunststoffe und Polyurethane (FSK, Frankfurt; www.fsk-vsv.de) is providing technical data sheets on PU soft foams on its website. The documents are available in both English and German.

FSK's data sheets classify and describe PU foams, such as gel, hypersoft, cold or viscoelastic, for various applications. The trade association also provides documents on bulk density and hardness tolerances of flexible PU foams and principles of quality and the environment, as well as a sample copy of a material data sheet

Manfred Stahl, spokesman for FSK's technical specialist group, says the data sheets "provide valuable information to the processing industry when dealing with the different types of soft polyurethane foams." PU flexible foams are mainly used for furniture production, such as in upholstery and mattresses.