Concrete Mixer Machines

Concrete Mixer Machines: Overview, Types & Capacity
 

Manually preparing concrete mixes was time-consuming and inaccurate in the past. Because of increased demand and technological advancements, concrete mixers are increasingly used even for relatively modest projects. A concrete mixer is a machine used to swiftly and accurately mix concrete of varied strengths. Some models of concrete mixers may even deliver their finished product right to the building site. There is a wide selection of concrete mixers available, each tailored to a certain set of needs. Small and medium-sized projects may employ portable concrete mixers, while larger projects can make use of on-site concrete batching machines.

Types of Concrete Mixer Machines
 

Common concrete mixers are, of course, quite adaptable to meet the needs of a wide range of uses. Some of the most prevalent uses for concrete mixers are outlined here. Let's go down the differences between continuous mixers and batch mixers.

1. Batch Mixer
 

Simply said, this concrete mixer makes concrete one batch at a time. Drums or pans with blades within them are used in batch mixers to churn up the concrete ingredients. The rotational rate, blade angle, and, in certain situations, drum inclination may be adjusted. Most building sites may benefit greatly from using these concrete mixers, which are the most popular models on the market. There are two distinct kinds of batch mixers.

2. Drum Mixer
 

The drum of these mixers is in the form of a double conical frustum. The blade(s) in the drum that serves to mix, prepare, and discharge the concrete mixture vary depending on the kind of drum being utilized. There are three distinct varieties of drum mixers, namely:

• a). In a drum mixer with a tilting drum, the drum may tilt up or down to a certain angle. The mixer may then be tilted downward to release the concrete mixture after it has been produced by tilting upward. These mixers include a drum that is sealed off at one end. When making concrete with limited workability and high-size particles, tilting drum mixers are optimal. These mixers are the best option for hard building operations or huge construction sites.

• b). An alternative to tilting drum mixers is the non-tilting drum mixer, whose concrete-making drum revolves on a horizontal axis. Both ends of this have access points. The mix's components are poured in at one end, and the finished product is retrieved at the other. An intake tube is connected to the drum's top in order to collect the mixture. The mixers' blades also aid in the extraction process. Mixing concrete with extremely large-sized aggregates and in situations where the quick discharge of concrete is needed are not good uses for non-tilting drum mixers. Drum mixers like this are commonplace on domestic and commercial building projects.

• c). The components of the concrete mix are put in from one end, and the finished mix is collected from the other end, in a reversing drum mixer, which is quite similar to the non-tilting drum mixer. Two sets of blades are what make reversing drum mixers apart from their non-tilting counterparts. When the drum is spinning in one direction, the blades help with the mixing process, and when the drum is spinning in the other direction, the blades help with discharging the mixture. When making dry mix concrete, reversing drum mixers work well.

3. Pan Mixer
 

The cylindrical pan of this mixer replaces the traditional drum in the traditional concrete mixer. These mixers, like drum mixers, contain blades to help with mixing. To maximize efficiency, these blades are often designed in a star form. The attached scrapers help keep mortar from drying out and adhering to the pan. A typical pan mixer may be used in either of two distinct ways: The first kind is the pan mixer, in which the pan remains stationary while the blades spin on a horizontal axis. Second, the pan may revolve on a vertical axis while the blades remain stationary in certain pan mixers. When it comes to mixing concrete, pan mixers are often regarded as the gold standard. Both kinds of mixers perform equally well, regardless of their mode of operation. Typically, the concrete mixture is retrieved by a drain at the base of the pan. We recommend using these mixers for making concrete that will set quickly and be used sparingly.

4. Continuous Mixer
 

As long as construction is taking place, these concrete mixers will keep churning out concrete. Construction workers continually feed them raw materials, and when the concrete is finished, they release it and collect it. Typically, continuous mixing systems are installed right at the job site. They consist of a feeder unit, which takes in raw ingredients, a mixer unit, which combines those raw materials into usable concrete, and a discharge mechanism, which dispenses the finished product. During the construction of massive projects like bridges, tunnels for highways, dams, etc., these mixers are used.

Concrete Mixer Machine Capacity
 

Once the maximum batch capacity of the mixer is multiplied by the number of mixing cycles in an hour, the maximum hourly production capacity of the mixer can be determined. The total time of a mixing cycle is equal to the sum of the times it takes to fill, mix, and empty. The time it takes to fill and empty a mixer will vary depending on its batch size, but that is not the case with mixing time. As the capacity of the mixer grows, so does the amount of time required to fill and empty it. Due to the nonlinear nature of the time needed for material flow, a larger mixer will take more time to fill than a smaller one. The flow rate of the discharged newly mixed concrete from the mixer is limited by the reception capacity of the concrete transport equipment, therefore discharging a larger mixer normally takes more time. Since these factors are involved, there will be no linear relationship between the size of the mixer and the maximum output. Because of this, a smaller mixer may complete more cycles of mixing in an hour than a larger mixer can.

Mixer capacity is maximized when output is kept going continuously. Everything else at the concrete mixing plant, especially the raw material flow, has to be scaled up or down depending on the size of the mixer. The dosing devices need to have a cycle that's long enough that by the time one dosage is through mixing, the following dose has already been weighed. Here, there is no need to wait for the mixer to cool down before filling it up again once it has been discharged. Also, the raw materials needed for manufacturing should be kept in enough supply at all times at a concrete mixing facility. A larger mixer is useless if the water line is unable to provide water quickly enough, or if production has to be halted because one of the bins or silos is empty during dosing. Heating systems need to be adequate in proportion to the required production capacity while making concrete in the winter. The mixer size is just one aspect of the wider picture that impacts the capacity, thus all these variables must be taken into consideration if an investment in a new plant is planned, particularly when it comes to renovating a concrete mixing plant.

For each mixer, there is a minimum quantity of concrete that may be safely mixed. When dealing with larger quantities, it's best to use a larger mixer. Devices for dispensing doses have tolerances based on the largest dosage possible. Weighing tiny items to the accuracy needed by the standards becomes increasingly difficult as the variance increases. Always consider the necessities and the big picture when deciding how big of a mixer to buy. Plant buildings and other machinery will need to be expanded to accommodate a large mixer. Demand for all resources, including but not limited to, energy, water, and materials, will rise at the same time. The total cost of investment and upkeep will rise as a direct consequence of these causes. By selecting an appropriately sized mixer, producers may minimize initial outlay and maximize profitability while making concrete.