01Technology
EcoFoam and EcoMold are Etat'H Solide's two process modules: nitrogen foaming that removes resin, and rapid mold-surface heating for a clean finish. Both are designed for existing injection machines.
01EcoFoam
EcoFoam is a supercritical-nitrogen foaming module. It doses gas into the melt so part of every shot becomes microscopic cells instead of resin.
A gas booster and the EcoFoam injection unit, supplied for installation on suitable customer-owned machines.
Nitrogen supply unit (N₂ generator + gas booster)
Above about 34 bar and −147 °C, nitrogen becomes a dense supercritical fluid that dissolves readily into molten plastic.
NIST Chemistry WebBook
Gas is metered at a fraction of 1% of shot weight, at a level set for each resin.
Trexel MuCell processing guide
Mixing dissolves the gas completely, and a shut-off nozzle keeps the solution under pressure until injection.
Trexel processing guide; Ding et al., Polymers, 2021
Etat'H Solide's U.S. patent describes a static porous mixing body that forms the gas–melt solution, giving a foamed core under an unfoamed skin.
US 12,053,913 B2
The company's validation setup handles high-pressure nitrogen up to 200 bar, with nitrogen generation, a booster and gas control.
Company IR deck, Sep 2026
02EcoMold
EcoMold is a mold-surface temperature controller. It heats the cavity surface while the part fills, then cools it fast.
The EcoMold mold-temperature controller, paired with a mold adapted for rapid heating and cooling.
Fountain flow carries bubbles from the melt front onto the cold mold wall, where they are stretched and frozen as silver swirl marks.
Wang et al., Polymer Engineering & Science, 2015
A cavity surface held hot during filling lets surface gas escape or re-dissolve, so the skin replicates the polished steel.
Chen et al., Polymers for Advanced Technologies, 2008
Fast cooling then locks the skin and limits the cycle-time cost of heating.
Peer-reviewed rapid heat/cool molding studies
EcoMold heats electrically close to the cavity surface, so it needs a mold built or adapted for surface heating.
Company product information
03The process
One shot, followed from the barrel to the finished part.
Stage 06/06Result
Physical foaming also changes pack time, clamp force and warp, according to industry data for the method in general.
Gas packs the part from inside, so most pack-and-hold time can be dropped.
Cavity pressure and clamp force fall.
Warp and sink improve, usually from about 5% weight reduction upward.
Gains shrink as flow length grows relative to wall thickness; long, thin parts often save single digits.
04Evidence
The evidence so far is a KTR specimen test, an internal gloss benchmark and an illustrative line scenario. Each has a different basis, and none is a production-part result.
Specimen density
−34.3%
Baseline0.99 g/cm³
EcoFoam0.65 g/cm³
Impact strength
73%
Izod impact strength retained by the foamed specimen
Specimen density, not finished-part weight. Density and gloss come from separate tests.
Illustration of two identical molded panels: on the left, a conventional foamed surface with silver swirl marks; on the right, the smooth, glossy EcoMold surface.
Conventional foamWith EcoMoldSurface gloss (ABS)
+25.3%
In an internal ABS benchmark, EcoMold raised specular gloss from 83 to 104 gloss units against the company's conventional process.
Why foamed parts streak
Fountain flow carries bubbles from the melt front onto the cold mold wall, where they are stretched and frozen as silver swirl marks.
Why heat helps
A cavity surface held hot during filling lets surface gas escape or re-dissolve, so the skin replicates the polished steel.
−34.3%
Baseline 0.99, EcoFoam 0.65 g/cm³
73%
Izod impact strength retained by the foamed specimen
+25.3%
Conventional 83, EcoMold 104 GU
$257K
Potential savings per line, per year
05Competitive landscape
The lightweighting field is converging on one idea: pair foaming with surface heating. Etat'H Solide offers both, designed for the presses molders already run.
Feb 2024
ENRX becomes a strategic shareholder in Roctool, an induction heat-and-cool specialist.
Oct 2025
ENGEL acquires Trexel, the maker of MuCell foaming.
Apr 2026
Trexel and Roctool form a lightweighting alliance that pairs MuCell with heat and cool.
EcoFoam + EcoMold (Etat'H Solide)
MuCell (Trexel, ENGEL Group)
Roctool
Super-Foam / Clean-Foam (Woojin Plaimm)
Chemical foaming, core-back and redesign
Unchanged part design
~5–12%
Redesigned or core-back parts
20–40%
EcoFoam specimen (KTR)
34.3%
A 34.3% specimen density reduction with 73% of impact strength retained, against about 5–12% typically reported for foaming unchanged parts. A specimen result is not directly comparable with part savings; the proof-of-concept programs will show whether it holds on production parts, unchanged tools and production cycle times.
Foaming and electric surface recovery come from one supplier, designed for presses molders already run.
Etat'H Solide does not sell complete molding presses, so its modules are not tied to one press maker.
Under the company's model, customers pay for a trial, then for equipment plus a 20–30% share of the savings they verify, set per contract.
Gas, temperature, pressure and validation data are kept as trade secrets and feed the planned AI layer.
06IP & know-how
Etat'H Solide's foam-molding technology is backed by granted patents in four jurisdictions, with further filings and trade secrets.
United States
US 12,053,913 B2
Foam molding apparatus and foam molding method thereby
Granted · 6 Aug 2024
Korea
KR 10-2069098 B1
Foam molding machine and foam molding method thereby
Granted · 22 Jan 2020
Japan
JP 7595067 B2
Foam molding apparatus and foam molding method using the same
Granted · 5 Dec 2024
China
CN 114206575 B
Foam molding apparatus and foam molding method
Granted · 13 Dec 2024
US · KR · JP · CN
Granted patents
Core mixing structure
11
Further Korean applications
Nozzle, mixing and mold control
3
PCT filings
Retrofit, porous mixing, zone temperature
Undisclosed
Trade secrets
Gas, temperature, pressure and validation data
Core mixing structure
Granted patents
Injection interface
Shut-off nozzle
Mold & surface control
Temperature zones · counter-gas
Process intelligence
Recipes and validation data (trade secrets)
The named inventor, Myung-Ho Kang, has filed patents on rapid heat/cool molds and foam molding since 2010.
EcoFoam is Etat'H Solide's supercritical-nitrogen foaming module. It doses high-pressure nitrogen into the molten plastic, where the gas dissolves into a single-phase solution. When the melt enters the mold, the pressure drop forms countless micrometre-scale cells, so part of each shot is gas instead of resin. The hardware includes a gas booster and the EcoFoam injection unit.
EcoMold is a mold-surface temperature controller. It heats the cavity surface while the part fills, then cools it quickly. A hot surface lets gas at the skin escape or re-dissolve, so the skin can replicate the polished mold instead of freezing swirl marks, and rapid cooling limits the cycle-time cost. EcoMold heats electrically, close to the cavity surface.
Foamed parts streak because gas bubbles reach the cold mold wall. Fountain flow carries bubbles at the melt front onto the wall, where they are stretched and frozen as silver swirl marks. Foamed parts also tend to look lighter in colour and less glossy. Fixing this usually means painting, sanding or a separate heat-and-cool system, the gap EcoMold is built to close.
They are designed to: both modules target the injection machines factories already run. Etat'H Solide supplies the EcoFoam injection unit and EcoMold equipment for installation on suitable customer-owned machines, and EcoMold needs a mold built or adapted for surface heating. Press, mold, interface and safety compatibility are assessed for each application, so configuration varies by part.
Foamed specimens kept 73% of their Izod impact strength in the same KTR test that showed the 34.3% density reduction, so some strength is traded for weight. Whether that matters depends on the part's load case. Under Etat'H Solide's model, each part is validated against the customer's own performance requirements in a trial before any rollout.
A paid trial validates one part on your line, with gas, temperature and pressure conditions set for that part.
damian@etathsolide.co.kr
