[hikerguy]

We are a mechanical insulation company specializing in commercial and industrial HVAC insulation. Currently, we have a small group of guys that make insulation blankets for steam valves and oddball equipment on projects. This process is all hand layout and is as slow as you would expect.

The Plan: Incorporate a CNC laser and step up our quality and speed.

The Good: I have a decent background in CNC machining and Autodesk

The Problem: I'm not familiar with anything laser and am in need of direction with material applications.

The Material: Needled fiberglass/ceramic mat ~1 inch thick, silicone impregnated glass cloth, woven glass cloth, PTFE glass cloth, Aerogel, (BONUS .016 aluminum roll stock with poly backing, and last but not least .030 PVC roll stock.)

If we can't get the project up and running for 40-70k it'll have to be mothballed for a couple of years.

[Paul-JB]

I could be wrong but Im not sure if a laser will cut that material well. We cut ceramic wool blanket by hand like you are doing but its easy shapes like rectangle strips. For curved pcs or with holes and cutouts the use a waterjet (without abrasive) and it works great. We use a pc of foam insulation board on too of the slats to support the bats. If you do it right it doesn’t saturate the matt with water. Sometimes tho it does get wet and we let it dry out overnight.
If WJ doesn’t sound appealing Maybe Check out the CNC cutting machines made by Gerber or Eastman.
https://www.gerbertechnology.com/gerbercutters/
https://www.eastmancuts.com/automated-cutting/

[hikerguy]

I could be wrong but Im not sure if a laser will cut that material well. We cut ceramic wool blanket by hand like you are doing but its easy shapes like rectangle strips. For curved pcs or with holes and cutouts the use a waterjet (without abrasive) and it works great. We use a pc of foam insulation board on too of the slats to support the bats. If you do it right it doesn’t saturate the matt with water. Sometimes tho it does get wet and we let it dry out overnight.
If WJ doesn’t sound appealing Maybe Check out the CNC cutting machines made by Gerber or Eastman.
https://www.gerbertechnology.com/gerbercutters/
https://www.eastmancuts.com/automated-cutting/

Water jet could be an option. I was always under the impression it was slow but if you guys are running it without even needing an abrasive, it must do pretty good.

How much time is involved with cleaning the water, or doesn't the ceramic fiber cause any trouble?