Foam inserts, also known as shadow foam for tools, are a quick DIY project that will significantly enhance your toolbox organisation, safety and efficiency. They are easy to make if you are comfortable tracing, cutting and gluing two sheets of foam together.
Begin by arranging your tools on what will be the top sheet of foam and carefully trace them with a marker. Spray the marked side of the top sheet with spray adhesive.
Customization
When it comes to tool box drawer organizers, customization is key. This is because it can help improve overall organization by ensuring each tool has its own designated place. This will ensure that tools aren’t misplaced or accidentally left behind at a work site.
To achieve this, the foam should fit closely around each tool. For hand tools, this usually means creating a custom cutout in the foam. While this can be done by hand, it’s much faster to use a laser cutter like the Epilog at TechShop SJ.
Once the cutouts have been made, spray the top layer of the foam evenly with adhesive. Then carefully place the colored base layer over it. Wait a few seconds for the glue to become tacky, then apply pressure to ensure the two layers don’t pull apart. The result is a professional-looking, durable, and custom-made foam insert for your tool drawer. It’s an easy and cost-effective way to keep your tools organized and safe during transportation.
Visual Management
Foam drawer liners for tool boxes allow employees to easily locate the specific tools they need. This eliminates the frustration of searching through a cluttered box for a specific tool, reducing the time spent on completing tasks.
When a foam insert has been cut to the shape of hand tools, it can create a close fit around them, protecting the tools during transport and keeping them secure in the drawer. This can eliminate the risk of critical equipment being damaged, which could result in projects not completing on time or product samples being lost which could impact sales.
Foam inserts for tool boxes can also be coloured to differentiate different types of tools. For example, it might be possible to use a colour for screwdrivers and another for pliers so that even if the drawer is open it is easy to see which tools are missing from the kit. This is a simple way to introduce standardisation across the team and improve overall organisation.
Safety
Foam inserts help keep tools in place, so they won’t fall out and get lost. They also ensure tools are accounted for in the case, which eliminates manual inventory and makes it easy to meet safety requirements for transportation.
To create your own bespoke tool box foam insert, start by measuring the dimensions of your drawer. Then, cut craft foam sheets to size. It is important to use closed-cell foams, which are moisture resistant and protect your tools from rust.
Next, arrange your tools on what will be the top layer of the foam in a way that makes it easy to see where they belong. You should choose a bright colour for this layer, as it will stand out and make it easier to identify if tools are missing. Then, glue the top layer onto the coloured or white base layer. Allow the adhesive to set before putting your tools in the case. You can now enjoy your organized and safe toolbox for years to come!
Efficiency
One of the most common uses for foam is to organize tools in a tool box. Foam adds protection and helps keep tools in place, making it more efficient to access the right size wrench or screwdriver without digging through a jumble of items.
Using color can be an added advantage to help users remember which tools go where. For example, red could be used for wrenches and yellow for screwdrivers. This will save time and energy throughout the day as workers don’t have to search for a specific tool in the midst of a cluttered drawer.
Another efficiency benefit of a custom foam insert is that it protects tools from moisture, dust and other environmental elements. This will extend the life of the tool and save money on replacements down the road.