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Bonding and suspending eps blocks 2

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Roqmaker

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Feb 14, 2006
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I've been working on a project in which I am encapsulating 6" square X 6' blocks of eps in concrete. Due to the low s.g. of the 1# eps vs. the high (2.4)s.g. of the cement I've been having some difficulties. I'm curious, does anyone know of an adhesive I can use that would allow me to mount plastic or metal plates to the foam core that would withstand these pressures? The finished product is 10" square by 6'6" long. Also is there an adhesive you would recommend for bonding the scraps together so I could recycle the 2' chunks? I'm currently casting the parts in an open top collapsible form and using I-bolts connected to T-nuts thru crossmembers to hold the foam down and in the proper position/orientation. On the foam core I've glued mounting brackets that the I-bolts connect to. I haven't been able to find a decent adhesive that is both strong enough to hold the core in place, and also non-reactive with the eps itself. I've previously posted this in the materials section by mistake, and I've had a couple of good suggestions. I'm interested in something that will both be rapid setting and adapted to an automatic process in the future. We will be producing approx. 50,000 units in the next 9 months.
 
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Use a strap of some kind that will go over the top of your block and hold it down to your mold. It will remain in your concrete. It needs to be wide enough so it won't cut into the EPS. Stapping tape for boxes would work.
 
I appreciate the advice but, the strapping won't work for this project. The eps needs to be fully encapsulated in the concrete. I'm using cross-braces across the top of the mold box, thru these x-braces I'm threading I-bolts. The I-bolts hold the foam core down by means of a bracket attached to the foam. It's the attaching of the bracket to the eps foam that has been the biggest problem.
 
I'm confused. Do you mean eye-bolts? In any case something is penetrating the concrete to hold the foam in place, either the bolt, or the bracket, or a strap. My point is that you don't need any adhesive, there are plenty of simple and instant mechanical attachment methods, like staples and nails.
 
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