impact screen sewn onto king size memory foam topper

[Jon]

So, I know most people who use a tightly drawn impact screen have some kind of second layer behind the screen to absorb the impact. I was wondering if anyone has tried sewing an impact screen onto either a gel or memory foam king size mattress topper. I imagine it would increase the longevity of the impact screen and possibly reduce the trampolining effect that commonly occurs when an impact screen is tightly drawn.

[Jon]

[aeroburner]

the wait to screen would sag it and i would space the memory foam a inch or so away from impact screen as it tight bounce back would increase

[tlhammond5]

You'd have to hang it behind the screen. The screen has to be pulled tight. I just use a heavy canvas tarp.

[Jtangm04]

You got me imagining a ball just plugging into the screen for 2 secs and just plopping out.

[Jon]

I was curious about that possibility too. So I took my memory foam pillow and drilled a few 4 irons into it. They didn't plug. But there wasn't much of a rebound either. I think I'm gonna try putting a 2 or 3 inch mattress topper behind a supertex screen in a frame. The cali king size gel or memory foam toppers are only like $50 on Ebay. And if it doesn't work out, I can always use the memory foam for the dropdown areas in front of the screen and to cover the frame.
-what would be really awesome would be if you could find a mattress topper in white that was of a texture that would be ideal for projection.

[Jon]

I did a little research on memory foam today. I turns out there are different grades of memory foam. The higher the density, the slower the rebound. I was able to find the density of my pillow, which I hit a few balls into. It is only a 2lb density memory foam pillow. I watched a few demonstrations on you tube of the difference in rebound characteristics between 2,3,4 and 5 lb density rated memory foams. The rebound characteristics of 5lb memory foam are a lot slower than 2lb. Dramaticly slower. Who knows. maybe the ball would actually plug into the mattress for a second or two before falling to the ground. So, to me, that's the 1st thing I'd like to find out. Is something like that possible without breaking the bank. And 2, how thick a topper would it take to achieve that? 2,3, 4"?

[Jon]

[Timdm3]

I have a king size memory foam pad hanging separately but directly behind my screen. It works great for impact. Ball drop straight down.

One problem I did have was the memory foam developed a hole and started to tear at most impacted area. I ended up hanging a moving blanket between screen and foam and it had been working great since.

[Jon]

thats awesome. How many inches thick is the memory foam? do you know what the density is by any chance?
I just ordered a 4" Cali king size 4lb density topper. earlier today. I can't wait to see how it works

[StanMI]

Nothing to add here. But I would like updates and l8nks to any products you might recommend. I'd like to move my screen closer to my back wall and solve the rebound issues.

[Timdm3]

Don't remember density or thickness on foam. My Sim is currently boxed up in storage as I am moving houses, but I will check box once I get new room back up.

Also, my screen was less than 10" from my wall and it works great.

[akoe19]

Also curious how this works for you Jon. I'm planning a garage setup and was thinking I could just nail the memory foam to the studs behind the screen to maximize space.

[Jon]

It worked out pretty well. I started by building a frame out of wood(9' tall x 9' wide) and stretched a poly impact screen across the frame. Just tight enough to eliminate any waviness in the screen. I also tilted the screen slightly. The top of the screen is about 10" closer to the range mat than the bottom of the screen. This helps a ton with rebounding issue. I did a little experimenting in the setup process here. I found that the memory foam which I have bungee corded to the frame behind the screen may greatly increase the lifespan of my screen, but it didn't quite have the effect I was looking for. The thing that had the biggest impact on rebounding was finding the proper balance between a tightly stretched impact screen and a screen with a bit of slack. I'll note that I found you can have some slack in your screen and still get a quality image that doesn't look like a flag blowing in the wind. For me, it was about finding the right amount of slack. One place I have found memory foam to do an except ail job is on the floor right in front of your screen. The ball drops on it with a thud and doesn't roll all over the room. I still think there might be a way to implement memory foam as a replacement for the screen if you can find it in the right color and texture. The topper I bought has a matrix of holes that go right through the topper like Swiss cheese, so even if I painted it, it wasn't an option as a screen replacement. I like the idea of simply adhering a topper to a wall. Imagine all the time and money you could save if that worked out. I'll take some pics next time I'm at my sim space.

[Jon]

Well, trial and error is an unforgiving process. But it is probably one of the best ways to learn. I have learned that the properties of memory foam change dramatically in low temperature conditions. My 4lb hi density memory foam, which is quite firm at room temp becomes a good deal firmer at very cold temps(my sim is setup in an attic where temps can be between 0 and 45 degrees at this time of year). I'd go as far as to say it became somewhat brittle even. Even though it was fixed to the back of my screen within the frame, repeated impacts in the same locations resulted in chunks of foam tearing out of the mattress topper. It looks like some kind of panel (gonna try plywood) really needs to backstop the memory foam to prevent this tearing that occurs in low conditions. Also, in the location of one of the tears in the foam, my poly screen now has a hole. I do hit a lot of balls, think the sky360 online said 2300 balls in the last couple weeks. But it still feels pretty quick to be damaging the screen. It wasn't even stretched tightly across the frame. There was a little slack. Not enough for waves in the image, but that's how DIY goes sometimes. It's a sharp learning curve that can give your wallet a beating if your not careful. So, Im going to rebuild it with a cheaper and stronger canvas this time. I can't see putting up another quality impact screen until I know whats what.
Akoe- you mentioned nailing the memory foam to the studs in your garage. I think that is probably exactly the kind of backstop that is needed to prevent the kind of impact holes that I mention above. Of course, if I just had somewhere to practice that wasn't freezing, I probably wouldn't have those holes and tears.