Laminated foam product and methods for making laminated foam products

Abstract

Thermally laminated foam boards, methods for making thermally laminated foam boards, apparatus for making thermally laminated foam boards, smaller foam pieces made from thermally laminated foam boards, methods for making smaller foam pieces from thermally laminated foam boards, parts made from thermally laminated foam boards, methods for making parts from thermally laminated foam boards, and tools for making parts from thermally laminated foam boards are disclosed. The thermally laminated foam boards are made by thermally bonding at least two polystyrene boards together.

1 . A method of making a foam product comprising:
 thermally bonding at least two polystyrene boards together two make a thick laminated board;   machining the thick laminated board to remove a portion of the polystyrene and thereby form the foam product;   recycling the removed portion.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the removed portion is recycled to make polystyrene boards. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the thick laminated board consists of material of the at least two polystyrene boards. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the removed portion consists of material of the at least two polystyrene boards. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein prior to said thermal bonding of the at least two polystyrene boards together a flatness variation of face surfaces that are bonded together is greater than 0.020 inches. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the flatness variation is measured across the face surfaces of a two foot by two foot sample of polystyrene boards. 
     
     
         7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5  further comprising flattening the face surfaces that are to be bonded together to a flatness variation of less than 0.020 inches. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising flattening face surfaces that are to be bonded together by a factor of at least two. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein said flattening comprises heating and applying pressure to the face surfaces with rollers. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10  further comprising heating the face surfaces with heating elements that are positioned between and spaced apart from the face surfaces downstream of the rollers. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein a flatness variation where the thick laminated board is cut across a bond line between polystyrene boards is less than or equal to 0.005 inches from one side of the bond line to the other. 
     
     
         13 . A foam product comprising:
 at least two polystyrene boards bonded together two make a thick laminated board;   wherein a portion of the polystyrene board is removed to form a shape of the foam product;   wherein the formed foam product consists of material of the polystyrene boards.   
     
     
         14 . The foam product of  claim 13  wherein the removed portion consists of material of the polystyrene boards. 
     
     
         15 . The foam product of  claim 13  wherein a bond area between each of the polystyrene boards is substantially planar and has a bond thickness variation of less than 0.020 inches. 
     
     
         16 . The foam product of  claim 13  wherein a flatness variation where the thick laminated board is cut across a bond line between polystyrene boards are bonded together is less than or equal to 0.005 inches from one side of the bond line to the other. 
     
     
         17 . A method of making a foam product comprising:
 applying heat and pressure to facing surfaces of a pair of opposed polystyrene boards to flatten the facing surfaces by a factor of at least 2;   thermally bonding at least said pair of polystyrene boards together two make a thick laminated board; and   machining the thick laminated board to remove a portion of the polystyrene and thereby form the foam product.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein prior to said applying heat and pressure a flatness variation of said facing surfaces is greater than 0.020 inches. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein the flatness is measured across the face surfaces of a two foot by two foot samples of polystyrene boards. 
     
     
         20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising flattening the face surfaces that are to be bonded together to a flatness of less than 0.020 inches. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 9  wherein said applying heat and pressure is by heated rollers. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22  further comprising heating the face surfaces with heating elements that are positioned between and spaced apart from the face surfaces downstream of the rollers. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 17  wherein a flatness variation where the thick laminated board is cut across a bond line between polystyrene boards is less than or equal to 0.005 inches. 
     
     
         25 . A laminated foam board comprising:
 first and second polystyrene boards each having an outer skin that is formed during extrusion of the polystyrene boards;   wherein the polystyrene boards are laminated together without removing the outer skin of faces that are bonded together;   wherein a bond area between each of the polystyrene boards is substantially planar and has a bond thickness variation of less than 0.020 inches.   
     
     
         26 . A method of making a foam product comprising:
 thermally bonding at least two polystyrene boards together two make a thick laminated board;   cutting the thick laminated board into smaller foam pieces:   machining the smaller foam pieces to remove a portion of the polystyrene and thereby form the foam product;   wherein a profile tolerance where the smaller foam piece is machined across a thermal bond line between polystyrene boards is less than or equal to 0.015 inches from one side of the bond line to the other.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26  wherein prior to said thermal bonding of the at least two polystyrene boards together flatness of face surfaces that are bonded together are greater than 0.020 inches. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27  further comprising flattening the face surfaces that are to be bonded together to a flatness of less than 0.020 inches. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28  wherein said flattening comprises heating and applying pressure to the face surfaces with rollers. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29  further comprising heating the face surfaces with heating elements that are positioned between and spaced apart from the face surfaces downstream of the rollers. 
     
     
         31 . A foam product comprising:
 at least two polystyrene boards thermally bonded together two make a thick laminated board;   wherein a portion of the polystyrene board is removed across a bond line where two polystyrene boards are thermally bonded together to form a shape of the foam product;   wherein a profile tolerance where the smaller foam piece is machined across a thermal bond line between polystyrene boards is less than or equal to 0.015 inches from one side of the bond line to the other.   
     
     
         32 . The foam product of  claim 31  wherein a bond area between each of the polystyrene boards is substantially planar and has a bond thickness variation of less than 0.020. 
     
     
         33 . (canceled)