EVA & PE Foam Cutting Machine
MNT (MEINAITE) CNC knife cutters cut EVA, PE and PU foam sheet straight from your file with a cold oscillating blade — clean edge, no heat, no dust.
- Cold knife, no melted edge — cuts foam sheet clean where a laser melts and a hot wire scorches
- 5–8× faster than laser — high-frequency oscillating blade through soft and thick foam
- Sheet foam, not block — EVA, PE (EPE), PU and XPE sheet for inserts, footwear and seating (rigid EPS/XPS block carving is a hot-wire job, not ours)
Cold-Knife Cutting for EVA, PE and PU Foam Sheet
Foam sheet needs a cold cut. MNT CNC oscillating-knife cutters slice EVA, PE and PU foam straight from your file — no die, no heat. The blade parts the foam cleanly where a laser melts the edge and a hot wire scorches it.
Sheet, not block. If you carve rigid EPS or XPS block into 3D shapes, a hot-wire or 3D foam router is the right machine. This page is about flat EVA, PE and PU foam sheet from roughly 1–50 mm — packaging inserts, footwear parts, seating and foam gaskets — cut, kiss-cut and creased ready to use. See the full MNT digital cutting machine range.
Two neighbouring jobs have their own pages. Thermal and acoustic building insulation — rock wool, glass duct board, where R-value and the facing matter — is the insulation cutting machine. Foam under a cover in furniture, auto and marine trim is the upholstery cutting machine.
Machine specifications compared. Both machines take foam to the same 50 mm, so depth is not the deciding factor — footprint and sheet size are. The real risk with light foam is the sheet lifting under extraction draft, which is why zoned vacuum plus belt feeding matters more here than on any dense material.
| Specification | C6090 | C2516T |
|---|---|---|
| Cutting area | 600 × 900 / 600 × 1200 / 900 × 1200 mm | 2500 × 1600 mm |
| Foam, honeycomb, rigid foam | ≤ 50 mm | ≤ 50 mm |
| Standard tools | EOT electric oscillating tool, creasing tool | EOT, drag tool (UCT), milling spindle |
| Pneumatic oscillating tool (POT) | Optional | Optional |
| Cutting speed | 300–1800 mm/s | 300–1800 mm/s |
| Hold-down | Aluminium honeycomb, vacuum | Vacuum adsorption |
| Continuous belt feeding | Yes | Yes |
| Typical foam job | Samples, inserts, small packaging runs | Full sheet and roll stock |
Foam Grades We Cut
EVA Foam
- Formats: Closed-cell EVA, 25–60 shore C, 2–50 mm sheet and roll
- Watch out: EVA melts and beads at the cut line under any hot process, and a beaded edge will not bond — which is exactly what midsoles and gaskets need it to do
- How we cut it: A cold oscillating blade shears it square with no melt, no smell and no secondary trimming
PE Foam (EPE)
- Formats: Expanded polyethylene, 1–100 mm, plain or laminated with film
- Watch out: EPE is light enough to lift off the table under its own extraction draft, and once it shifts mid-cut the whole nest is scrap
- How we cut it: Zoned vacuum plus a conveyor belt hold it flat; kiss-cut or through-cut straight from your file
PU Foam
- Formats: Polyurethane from soft upholstery and mattress-foam grades to high-density technical foam, to 50 mm
- Watch out: Soft PU compresses ahead of a dull blade, so the cut wanders and the part comes out undersized — the classic reason hand-cut cushions never match
- How we cut it: High-frequency oscillation cuts before the foam has time to compress, holding the contour to the file
XPE & Specialty Foam
- Formats: Cross-linked PE, EPDM foam, EPS block foam and technical grades for gasket, insulation and sealing work
- Watch out: Cross-linked foams are dense enough to load the blade and skin over if heat gets in, which ruins the sealing face
- How we cut it: Cold cutting keeps the cell structure and the sealing face intact, with blade and frequency set per grade
Thickness figures come from MNT's own test cuts on each foam grade. Send your sheet and we return a free sample cut.
Foam Parts You Can Cut Without a Die
Packaging Inserts
- Parts: Protective inserts, cushioning and void fill cut to the product outline
- The hard part: Packaging tooling is a fixed cost against a product that may be redesigned next quarter — the die outlives its usefulness before it pays back
- What you get: No die at all: a shape change is a file change, and samples ship the same day
Footwear & Sports
- Parts: EVA midsoles, insoles, padding and protective pads
- The hard part: Footwear runs on tight sample cycles and constant size grading, and every graded size traditionally means another die
- What you get: Full size runs nested and cut from one file, with the square edge that midsole bonding needs
Upholstery & Seating
- Parts: Sofa, office-chair and cushion foam cut to contour, to 50 mm
- The hard part: Soft foam crushes under mechanical cutting, so the finished cushion ends up smaller than the pattern and the cover no longer fits
- What you get: Contour cut without crushing, so the foam matches the cover pattern first time
Automotive & Aerospace Seating
- Parts: Seat, headrest and trim foam for vehicle and cabin interiors
- The hard part: These parts are audited: every piece has to match the last one, and a hand-cut foam blank cannot prove that it does
- What you get: ±0.1 mm repeatability across the batch, cut from the released CAD file
Gaskets & Sealing Foam
- Parts: Foam gaskets, seals and closed-cell strip cut from CAD
- The hard part: A sealing face is only as good as its edge — any melt, skin or ragged cell structure becomes a leak path
- What you get: A cold blade leaves the cell structure open and the face square, so the gasket seals as designed
Cases & Tool Inserts
- Parts: Custom case and tool-organiser inserts, single pieces upwards
- The hard part: This work is almost entirely one-offs, so tooling economics never work and hand-cutting looks it
- What you get: Cut to the exact tool outline from a drawn or scanned file, one piece at a time, at production quality
Recommended MNT Machines
C2516T Digital Cutting Machine
- Cuts: EVA, PE (EPE), PU and XPE foam sheet, packaging inserts
- Specs: 2500 × 1600 mm bed · EOT oscillating knife · ≤ 50 mm foam · belt auto-feeding
- Best for: Large foam sheet, continuous runs and mixed soft/rigid work
- Price: From $16,900
C6090 Digital Cutting Machine
- Cuts: EVA/PE/PU foam samples, small parts, thin cushioning
- Specs: 600 × 900 to 900 × 1200 mm · EOT + creasing · aluminium honeycomb vacuum table
- Best for: Samples, footwear parts, R&D and short runs
- Price: From $12,000
Custom Foam Cutting Solution
- Cuts: Your foam grade, thickness and part geometry
- Specs: Bed built to your sheet size · tool head specified around your processes
- Best for: Production lines, in-line feeding and special tooling
C-series machines share one platform and tool range; models differ by working size and standard tool head.
Why an Oscillating Knife Wins for Foam Sheet
Pick the tool by foam form, not just foam type. For rigid EPS or XPS block carved into 3D shapes, a hot wire is the right machine. For flat EVA, PE and PU sheet, every heat-based method fails somewhere: a laser melts and fumes, a hot wire scorches and cannot follow a flat contour cleanly, and a CNC router throws dust and tears soft foam. A cold oscillating knife cuts foam sheet clean.
| Factor | Laser | Hot-wire | CNC router | Oscillating knife |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edge on EVA/PU | Melted | Not suitable | Torn / rough | Clean, square |
| Dust / fumes | Fumes | Fumes | Heavy dust | None |
| Foam range | Thin, laser-safe | Rigid EPS/XPS only | Rigid 3D carving | EVA/PE/PU, soft to thick |
| Speed | Slow on thick | Slow | Medium | Fast (5–8× laser) |
Use a laser only for thin, laser-safe foam with fine detail, and a router only for rigid 3D foam carving. For EVA, PE and PU sheet foam — packaging, footwear, seating — the cold knife is the clean, fast, dust-free choice.
Why Foam Makers Choose MNT
Distributor or OEM partner? Territory, spare-parts commitment and technical training are what decide whether a machine is worth carrying. Talk to us about partnership.
Clean, Cold Foam Edge
- No melt, no scorch, no dust — cuts EVA/PE/PU clean
- Square, ready-to-use edge straight off the machine
- For distributors: footwear and packaging plants cluster by industrial zone, so a single installation usually opens the two or three neighbours who already know each other’s suppliers
One Machine, Every Foam
- EVA, PE (EPE), PU, XPE and technical foams
- Knife, kiss-cut and creasing tools in one setup
- For distributors: spare-parts commitment, territory and technical training are the three things that decide whether a machine is worth carrying — all three are set out on our partnership page
No Dies — Free Cut on Your Foam
- Cut from your file — no tooling cost, MOQ 1
- Send your foam for a free sample cut
Factory-Direct + CE·ISO for Foam Converters
- Hangzhou Chaohan, 10,000㎡ factory, CE + ISO9001
- About MNT — direct pricing, no middleman
CE-marked and ISO 9001:2015 certified. Built by Hangzhou Chaohan Intelligent Equipment, not traded. Certificates on request.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you laser cut foam?
You can cut thin foam with a laser, but it melts EVA and PU edges and releases fumes. For clean, usable foam parts a cold oscillating knife is better; the laser suits only thin, laser-safe foam with fine detail.
Hot wire or oscillating knife — which do I need?
It depends on whether your foam is block or sheet. A hot wire melts a path through rigid EPS/XPS block and is the right tool for 3D carving, packaging blocks and architectural shapes. An oscillating knife cuts flat EVA, PE and PU sheet cold, holding a square edge and ±0.1 mm contour accuracy that a hot wire cannot reach. MNT builds the knife machines — if you are carving EPS block, a hot-wire supplier will serve you better.
What foam types can it cut?
EVA, PE (EPE), PU, cross-linked XPE and most technical foams — from thin cushioning to thick seating blocks, all from one machine.
How thick a foam can it cut?
Roughly 1–50 mm in a single pass depending on density, with a clean square edge. Send a sample and we confirm the exact setup.
Oscillating knife vs CNC router for foam?
The knife cuts soft foam clean with no dust; a router throws foam dust and tears soft EVA/PU. Use a router only for rigid 3D foam carving, and the knife for sheet foam.
Do I need a die?
No. Foam parts cut straight from your CAD file — no die, no tooling cost, and same-day design changes, ideal for prototypes and short runs.
How much does a foam cutting machine cost?
Price depends on working size and tool set; there is no per-shape die cost. Send your foam type, size and volume and we quote within 24 hours.
Foam Sheet Cutting — Technical Guides
Cutting foam raises real questions — which method suits EVA vs PU, how to avoid melted or dusty edges, and when a knife beats a laser or router. Our guides walk through clean, cold foam cutting.
Start Your Foam Sheet Cutting Project
Send your foam type (EVA/PE/PU), sheet thickness, part shapes and volume — we recommend the right knife cutter and reply within 24 hours.