Wet Ceramic Fibre Insulation

This system loads and stacks ceramic fibres insulation material into trolleys automatically.

The trolleys are about 2M high X 2M long and can accept a board 1M wide. Thickness range from, 5mm to 75mm. The material is wet and has the texture of uncooked pastry. Each thin mat takes about 1.5 minute to make and is much longer for the thicker ones.

The mat is made in a lower vacuum platen in a constantly mixed slurry of ceramic fibres. When the mat is formed the lower platen lifts to mate with a fixed upper one. That then holds the mat whilst the other platen descends to start the next one.

A thin wide conveyor then passes through the trolley which is lifted to the appropriate tray level on a scissor lift and collects the mat from the upper platen. The conveyor retracts and also reverses to leave space for following mats.

When the conveyor is holding the programmed number of mats it retracts through the trolley as the belt is running forward at precisely the same speed as the retraction. This allows the mats to be laid down, off a knife edge, onto the trolley tray without distortion.   The trolleys are conveyed around the system on roller conveyors complete with lifts to raise their castors from the floor.

This system replaced 2 men who had to wait whilst a mat was made and then insert a board underneath the vacuum head before manually releasing it to drop on the board. The board and mat was then fed into the trolleys.

Video 1 -  Animation of the whole process

Video 2 - Build and laydown actual - 20 years after commisioning!

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