Overview
MEVAC® PUF VIP is a vacuum insulation panel format that addresses a fundamental limitation of conventional flat VIP panels: the inability to accommodate non-planar installation geometries. Standard glass fiber and fumed silica VIPs are rigid flat panels that can only be installed in flat cavities. Many real-world insulation applications — curved appliance walls, tubular packaging inserts, contoured transport enclosures, and complex three-dimensional cold chain box geometries — cannot be efficiently served by flat panel systems.
The PUF VIP solution integrates a glass fiber vacuum core with a rigid polyurethane foam (PUF) jacket applied around the sealed vacuum panel. The foam jacket allows the overall panel assembly to be molded, shaped, or machined to match complex installation geometries while maintaining the thermal performance advantage of the evacuated glass fiber core at its center. The result is a VIP assembly that can be specified and installed in applications where a plain flat panel simply will not fit, without reverting to conventional foam-only insulation with its much higher thermal conductivity.
As with all VIP products, the vacuum seal of the glass fiber core must not be compromised by field cutting or drilling through the panel. The PUF jacket may be trimmed or machined at the foam layer only; any operation that penetrates to the evacuated core will destroy panel performance. For applications with unusual dimensional requirements, panels should be specified with the desired final shape geometry at the order stage. Contact East Materials for specification data, geometry requirements, thermal performance data at operating temperatures, and pricing.
Technical Specifications
| Property | Unit | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Core material | — | Glass fiber (vacuum sealed) |
| Jacket material | — | Rigid polyurethane foam (PUF) |
| Thermal conductivity | — | Contact East Materials for data sheet |
| Service temperature range | — | Contact East Materials for data sheet |
| Geometry | — | Moldable / contoured shapes available |
| Standard flat panel performance reference | W/(m·K) | Glass fiber core: <0.0020 at 24°C |
| Field cutting of evacuated core | — | Not permitted |
| PUF jacket trimming | — | Permitted at foam layer only |
Note: Effective system λ for a PUF VIP assembly depends on the relative proportion of the glass fiber vacuum core zone versus the PUF jacket zone in any given cross-section. Thicker PUF jackets reduce the system-level λ advantage of the vacuum core. Contact East Materials with your application geometry for a system-level thermal calculation.
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Applications
Contoured Cold Chain Packaging Inserts
Pharmaceutical shippers, medical device transport cases, and specialty food shippers often require insulation inserts with internal contours that conform to the product shape — bottles, vials, ampoules, or packaged meal trays. PUF VIPs can be manufactured in L-shapes, U-channels, corner blocks, and custom profiles to line the interior of a cold chain box with VIP-class insulation in every surface, including corners and edges where flat panels leave thermal bridging gaps.
Curved Appliance Wall Insulation
Household appliances — including wine coolers, specialty beverage chillers, and compact refrigerators — often have curved external or internal wall profiles that cannot be served by flat rigid VIP panels. PUF VIP assemblies allow the combination of VIP-class thermal performance with the geometric flexibility needed for curved wall applications.
Flexible Thermal System Integration
Thermal management enclosures for electronics, batteries, process equipment, and temperature-sensitive industrial payloads frequently have non-standard enclosure shapes. PUF VIPs allow thermal system designers to specify a VIP insulation solution for enclosures where flat panels cannot be integrated without excessive thermal bridging at edges and corners.
Custom Packaging System Design
For OEM packaging system designers who are engineering proprietary reusable cold chain containers or shipper systems, PUF VIP elements can be produced to custom shapes and specified as catalog components within a proprietary packaging system. Contact East Materials with your design brief for co-development discussions.
Packaging & Storage
PUF VIP assemblies are packaged in polyethylene film with rigid cardboard protection suited to the specific panel geometry, then palletized for export. The polyurethane foam jacket provides mechanical protection to the enclosed glass fiber vacuum core that bare flat panels lack.
Storage requirements:
- Store in dry conditions away from water and excessive humidity
- Avoid temperatures above the service limit (contact for data)
- Do not compress, puncture, or drill through panels
- PUF jacket may be lightly trimmed at foam surface only — do not penetrate to the vacuum core layer
- Verify vacuum core integrity with surface thermal mapping before system assembly
MOQ, lead time, and geometry capabilities: contact East Materials with your specific application dimensions, required quantities, and timeline.
Related Products
- VIP Panels — parent hub: full MEVAC® range overview and comparison table
- MEVAC® Glass Fiber VIP — flat glass fiber VIP, <0.0020 W/(m·K), 3–50 mm
- MEVAC® Fumed Silica VIP — flat fumed silica VIP, wide temp range, <0.0045 W/(m·K)
- MEVAC® Fumed Silica Core M200 — pre-formed fumed silica core board for panel manufacturers
- Aerogel Insulation — flexible aerogel blanket/board for irregular geometry insulation
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