How do we make Pink® Batts® insulation?

Making Pink® Batts® insulation

 

Pink® Batts® insulation is made from glass wool; a thermal and acoustic insulation used around the world in homes, buildings, hospitals, vehicles and white goods.

 

1. How glass wool is made

• Pink® Batts® glass wool insulation is made from over 80% recycled glass along with ingredients - sand, soda ash, borax and limestone. These raw materials are weighed and mixed to the required formula.
• The other important component is resin, which is used to bind the glass wool together.

2. Melting the mixture

• Mix enters melter
• The material is melted at temperatures around 1400°C, becoming liquid at 1200°C. The liquid material is then put into spinners, which are a type of cylinder with thousands of small holes drilled in them. The process is similar to the way candy floss is made. 

3.Forming glass fibres

• The glass fibres are sucked into a forming hood and fall onto a conveyor, forming a continuous mass of glass wool. Next the resin is cured by heating the product to around 270°C. Once cured, the resin holds the product together.

• The product comes out of the oven in continuous form and is cut to the required length.

4. Packaging it up

• Once the Pink® Batts® product has been cut, it is ready for packaging.
• Each bale is weighed to ensure it meets our strict quality standards. During this stage the product is stacked, compressed and pushed into bags. Each bag is sealed, further compressed and pushed into a sleeve, forming a unitised pack. 
• The packs are then transported to the distribution centre and dispatched to the merchant stores.
• Because glass wool bounces back into shape well, it can be compressed to a fraction of its nominal height. Several pieces of insulation can be tightly packed together in a bale which enables cost effective storage and transportation.