Polystyrene balls and spheres UK.

tel: +44 (0)29 20 522 510

Material

Our polystyrene balls are manufactured from good quality expanded polystyrene. Our moulded balls ( from 20 mm to 500 mm ) are a higher density than many that you will find else where. Unlike most of the other moulded polystyrene balls available in the UK, these DO contain a flame retarding additive, which is especially important when they are to be used for shop and exhibition display.

These balls are often referred to as "styrofoam" balls, particularly in the USA and many European countries. This is generally incorrect, as "STYROFOAM tm" is an extruded polystyrene normally in blue, produced by The Dow Chemical Company. Our range of cut balls, from 150mm to over 2000mm are cut from pre-moulded blocks of EPS. These are cut on our own purpose built machines, which were designed by Graham Sweet.

Finish

The polystyrene balls can be finished in a wide range of colours. We can apply a paint finish, and get a good match to most pantone, RAL, or paint references. We also offer a glitter finish, which is ideal for Christmas decorations. We have a wide range of stock glitter colours. We can finish the balls with a "frosted" finish, in which we can offer a much wider range of colours. This effect looks similar to a fruit pastel.

The spheres can also be coated and textured with one of our natural Rock, snow, or metal finishes.

For some examples of our finishes, take a look through the poly ball photo gallery.

Hanging points

When required, the polystyrene balls can be fitted with secure hanging points. We have evolved a very secure method of fitting these hanging / suspension points, whereby the sphere has a threaded bar bolted all the way through from top to bottom. Many production companies will insist on a method like this especially for the larger spheres - where "glued in" hanging points will not be secure enough. When necessary, our hanging points can be tested by a listing company, and a certificate of conformity can issued. This is standard procedure for all our larger spheres.

Size

Our moulded polystyrene balls are available form 20mm diameter, to 500mm diameter. For very large runs, we can mould customer specified sizes. The mould production is expensive, so is normally only an option when very large numbers are involved. Our range of cut balls, from 150mm to over 2000mm are cut from pre-moulded blocks of EPS. These are cut on our own purpose built machines, which were designed by Graham Sweet. These machines can be adapted to cut custom sizes and also custom shapes.

Diameter

The diameter of the ball is the same as its height. The radius is the measurment from the center to the surface, this is half of the diameter.

Circumference

This is the measurement around the outside of the ball at the widest point. This would be measured with a tape measure, similar to taking a waist measurement.

Surface area

This is the area on the outside of the ball. This is usefull to know to have an idea of how much paint it will take to coat a sphere.

Please note: the following information is intended only as a rough guide. The surface area of polystyrene balls can change depending on the exact finished diameter of the ball, and also the surface texture. Due to the nature of Expanded polystyrene, both of these can vary.

Diameter	Approx inches	About the size of:	Surface area	Circumference
20 mm	0.8 inches	Grape	12.6 square CM	63 mm
30 mm	1.2 inches		28.3 square CM	94 mm
40 mm	1.6 inches	ping pong ball	50.3 square CM	126 mm
50 mm	2 inches		78.5 square CM	157 mm
60 mm	2.4 inches		113.1 square CM	188 mm
70 mm	2.8 inches	Tennis ball	153.9 square CM	220 mm
80 mm	3.1 inches		201.1 square CM	251 mm
90 mm	3.5 inches		254.5 square CM	283 mm
100 mm	3.9 inches		314.2 square CM	314 mm
120 mm	4.7 inches		452 square CM	377 mm
140 mm	5.5 inches		616 square CM	440 mm
150 mm	5.9 inches		707 square CM	471 mm
160 mm	6.3 inches		804 square CM	503 mm
170 mm	6.7 inches		908 square CM	534 mm
180 mm	7.1 inches		1018 square CM	565 mm
200 mm	7.9 inches	soccer ball normally 220mm	1257 square CM	628 mm
250 mm	9.8 inches	Basket ball	0.2 square metres	785 mm
290 mm	11.4 inches		0.26 square metres	911 mm
300 mm	11.8 inches		0.28 square metres	942 mm
390 mm	15.4 inches		0.48 square metres	1.23 metres
450 mm	17.7 inches		0.64 square metres	1.41 metres
500 mm	19.7 inches		0.79 square metres	1.57 metres
580 mm	22.8 inches		1.06 square metres	1.82 metres
600 mm	23.6 inches		1.13 square metres	1.88 metres
700 mm	27.6 inches		1.54 square metres	2.2 metres
800 mm	31.5 inches		2.01 square metres	2.51 metres
900 mm	35.4 inches		2.54 square metres	2.83 metres
1000 mm	39.4 inches		3.14 square metres	3.14 metres
1200 mm	47.2 inches		4.52 square metres	3.77 metres
1500 mm	59.1 inches		7.07 square metres	4.71 metres
2000 mm	78.7 inches		12.57 square metres	6.28 metres