25mm insulation board

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You ask about the availability of 25mm thick insulation boards. You have mentioned that you could obtain thicker material, but that your preference is for 25mm material.
I was able to obtain 100mm polystyrene material from a house construction project, but also wanted thinner material. I have designed and built a polystyrene cutting "machine" which uses a hot wire to cut the polystyrene material to any thickness I may need for a particular project. My machine is completely adjustable, and able to cut any required thickness from a thick slab, with millimetre accuracy.

That's a pretty cool device. Don't suppose you've got plans for it- tempted to make one myself as it would eliminate the dust/fragments from cutting, which bothers me?
 
Anyone who insists on not using polyhives because of their own "eco-principles" has my respect. Whilst I am aware that in that subject area, "every little helps", the negative global impact of the polystyrene used in beehives must be relatively minimal when you consider how much has a single use in packaging.
 
It's single use that is the issue. Years ago I queried Morrisons as to why they wrapped turnips in plastic. They said the customers wanted it..... yeah right.

PH
 
That's a pretty cool device. Don't suppose you've got plans for it- tempted to make one myself as it would eliminate the dust/fragments from cutting, which bothers me?

Not cool for an 8 x 4 sheet so only small pieces.
 
Not cool for an 8 x 4 sheet so only small pieces.

When cutting 25mm PIR board, with care, it's quick, easy and crumb-free to slice it like you do plasterboard. Use a straight-edge and score a line on one side with a sharp blade and then break the board over a hard edge. You need to concentrate on keeping to the line and the resulting cut edge will be clean but often a bit wavy. It may work with any board thicker than that but I think accuracy will suffer.
 
That's a pretty cool device. Don't suppose you've got plans for it- tempted to make one myself as it would eliminate the dust/fragments from cutting, which bothers me?
Thank you, Wilco, for your approval. Yes, it works especially well, with no dust fragments whatsoever. Sorry, I do not have plan drawings for it, but will make a few comments here.
The cutter-wire is a length of piano wire which is heated by a low voltage high current transformer (240 volts primary, about 3 volts secondary). You could choose a transformer based on your mains electricity voltage supply, and a low secondary voltage in the region of 3 volts or maybe a little more. The important thing is to understand the formula E = I * R, and the implications which that has for the length and thickness (and ohms resistance) of the cutting wire.
I tried to make the photo fairly "self descriptive", and in some ways the dimensions are a bit arbitrary, as I used materials which I had available. When making this machine, I just tried to make sure that the cutting wire was long enough for the largest material I wished to cut.
Underneath the platform is a "spine" which enables the vertical posts to tension the cutting wire, after its height has been adjusted.
Please feel welcome to PM me if you want more information.
 
That's a pretty cool device. Don't suppose you've got plans for it- tempted to make one myself as it would eliminate the dust/fragments from cutting, which bothers me?
For under £20 you can get a ready made "freestyle" hot wire electric polystyrene cutting tool. £50 plus gets you more sophistication.
 
It's single use that is the issue. Years ago I queried Morrisons as to why they wrapped turnips in plastic. They said the customers wanted it..... yeah right.
PH
I think I have the "awkward old sod " gene - I will unwrap over packaged goods at the till and let the supermarket deal with the rubbish - especially if I get that sort of reply !!!!! Maybe we should all do it.
 
But you are still thinking with the mindset of the throwaway society.
Why recycle when the item doesn't need replacing/disposing of in the first place? There's a good chance that these polyhives will outlast us all - people are still using polyhives purchased in the late 60s/early 70s
I didn't realise polyhives had been around for so long.
Even so, they must have a finite life and then what do you do with all the polystyrene ?
Clearly some EPS is recycleable - mostly clean EPS from packaging.
http://www.eps.co.uk/recycling/eps_recycling_the_facts.htmlBut does that apply to old dirty polyhives I wonder?
 
Thank you, Wilco, for your approval. Yes, it works especially well, with no dust fragments whatsoever. Sorry, I do not have plan drawings for it, but will make a few comments here.
The cutter-wire is a length of piano wire which is heated by a low voltage high current transformer (240 volts primary, about 3 volts secondary). You could choose a transformer based on your mains electricity voltage supply, and a low secondary voltage in the region of 3 volts or maybe a little more. The important thing is to understand the formula E = I * R, and the implications which that has for the length and thickness (and ohms resistance) of the cutting wire.
I tried to make the photo fairly "self descriptive", and in some ways the dimensions are a bit arbitrary, as I used materials which I had available. When making this machine, I just tried to make sure that the cutting wire was long enough for the largest material I wished to cut.
Underneath the platform is a "spine" which enables the vertical posts to tension the cutting wire, after its height has been adjusted.
Please feel welcome to PM me if you want more information.
 
To clarify understanding_ bees formular for calculating/understanding the formular E=I * R.. The wattage (E) is calculated by using the formular(s) W(P)= I x I x R, (I squared x R) or... V x I or ... V x V divided by R. W = watts I = current/amps R=ohms/resistance V = volts
Example If you have a resistance of 4 ohms and a voltage of 12 volts then a current of 3 amps will flow thru the resistor, so the wattage developed in the resistor is V x I or 36 watts
 
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