Compression-cutting assembly and method

A method of forming at least one longitudinally extending series of cuts and separable connectors in a fibrous insulation blanket intermediate lateral edges of the fibrous insulation blanket to form separable blanket sections in the fibrous insulation blanket so that the fibrous insulation blanket can be handled and installed as a unit or separated by hand along the longitudinally extending series of cuts and separable connectors into blanket sections having widths less than a width of the fibrous insulation blanket, comprising:

• providing a fibrous insulation blanket having a density between 0.3 pounds/ft3 and 1.6 pounds/ft3, a width, and a thickness of at least one inch;
• providing at least one circular compression-cutting blade;
• the circular compression-cutting blade having an outer peripheral edge formed by a series of compression cutting teeth separated by a series of notches;
• the compressing cutting teeth each having an arcuate length at the outer peripheral edge of the first circular compression-cutting blade between 0.2 inches and 2.0 inches;
• the notches each having an arcuate length at the outer peripheral edge of the circular compression-cutting blade between 0.04 inches and 0.25 inches;
• the notches having a depth from a base of the notch to the outer peripheral edge of the first circular compression-cutting blade between 0.5 inches and 1.75 inches;
• the circular compression-cutting blade having a pair of annular shoulders on lateral surfaces of the circular compression-cutting blade that project laterally outward from adjacent the bases of the notches;
• using the annular shoulders on the lateral surfaces of the circular compression-cutting blade to reduce the stresses generated in the fibrous insulation blanket at the bases of the notches of the compression-cutting blade as the fibrous insulation blanket is being cut by the circular compression cutting blade to thereby reduce damage to the separable connectors being formed in the fibrous insulation blanket from high compression stresses that would otherwise be set up in the fibrous insulation blanket at the bases of the notches during the cutting of the fibrous insulation blanket with the circular compression-cutting blade;
• providing an anvil with an anvil surface moving at a selected velocity for cooperating with the compression cutting teeth of the circular compression-cutting blade to cut the fibrous insulation blanket;
• feeding the fibrous insulation blanket between the circular compression-cutting blade and the anvil at substantially the selected velocity of the moving anvil surface;
• and
• rotating the circular compression-cutting blade to move the outer peripheral edge of the circular compression-cutting blade at substantially the selected velocity of the moving anvil surface whereby the outer peripheral edges of the compression-cutting teeth of the circular compression-cutting blade move at substantially the selected velocity of the moving anvil surface and form a longitudinally extending series of cuts and separable connectors in the fibrous insulation blanket between first and second longitudinally extending blanket sections that are separable from each other along the longitudinally extending series of cuts and separable connectors formed in the fibrous insulation blanket.