Construction Machine Blog

The concrete mixer is a very important piece of equipment for the modern construction field. As we all know, the main material of making a mixer is steel. Being made by steel is the reason why concrete mixers tend to be heavy and stubborn. From the right birth of concrete mixers, inventors have been thinking about how to help mixers lose weight. However, little progress has been made until recently the invention of the plastic drum. As we can see, drum is an important part consisting of a concrete; it takes a great proportion of the whole weight of the mixer. With the lighter plastic drum, the total weight of the concrete mixer is greatly decreased.

 Plastic drum mixers

The drum includes a bottom supported by a conventional rigid metal pan secured to the external surface thereof to rigidify the plastic drum and extend the life expectancy of the plastic drum by enabling the concrete mixer to be used to complete a mixing job at a job site even though movement of the concrete mix within the drum during repetitive mixing cycles may ultimately wear a hole through the bottom of the plastic drum. Paddle assemblies are positioned interiorly of the drum and oriented to maintain minimum splashing during the mixing operation. A rigid ring gear is attached peripherally of the drum in spaced relation to the metal supporting pan with the drum, ring gear and metal bottom pan being uniquely related to facilitate assembly and disassembly of the components to facilitate easy replacement of the components.

Steel drum mixers 

Concrete mixers of the type utilizing a generally vertically or angularly disposed mixing drum driven about a longitudinal axis with a paddle assembly mounted interiorly of the drum are well known. The drum includes a rigid peripheral ring gear mounted peripherally of the drum above the closed bottom end and below an open top end for rotating the drum about a generally longitudinal axis. The drum is supported from a frame by a yoke pivotally supported from the frame and a cradle assembly to enable pivotal movement of the drum from a generally vertical position to a tilted position with the open end of the drum being disposed below the pivotal axis of the drum to dump mixed concrete from the drum. A manually operated wheel or handle structure is associated with the yoke and frame to manually pivot the drum between a mixing position and a dumping position.

 Mixer with plastic drum-United States Patent 5492401

Concrete mixers as described above in which the drum is constructed of metal have been used for many years. In view of developments in plastic materials, recent efforts have been made to utilize a mixing drum constructed of plastic material in lieu of a metal mixing drum. High density crosslinkable polyethylene or suitable equivalent plastic material has been used rather than heavy steel and certain advantages are derived from the use of the plastic material, such as, reduction in weight, easier and more effective cleaning of the drum and substantial reduction in labor intensive removal of hardened concrete which, when bonded to the interior of a steel mixing drum, requires extensive effort and time to remove.

Although currently only the drum can be made by plastic, we have good reason and confidence to believe that we can make the whole machine of a concrete mixer by plastic. At that time, the time, the mixer will become lighter and smaller and smarter.

Concrete mixer is a very important construction equipment. Every construction, from setting up a tall building to establishing a small house, at least one mixer is needed. What’s more, as its being used so frequently, mixers get broken down easily, which makes the purchase of mixers necessary and important. However, with so many brands and choices on the market, to buy a right mixer is not an easy job at all. The following is something you should always bear in mind before buying a mixer.

Various Concrete Mixers

The concrete mixers are largely used on civil construction, mostly to build houses, dams, bridges and infinity of others tasks. It has also other uses like mixing rations or manure, but on these cases it calls only mixer.

 They normally measure the capacity of the mixer in liters that corresponds to the dum capacity. The best you can get is a concrete mixer that provides you homogeneity and does it quickly. The homogeneity is determined by the type of mixer, the order of introduction into the mixer, and duration and power of mixing.

 Efficiency is the best way to achieve success on your daily work, don’t buy one just because is the best price you can find in market, always give preference to relation quality/price, you can save 10 bucks today and lose 1000dollars tomorrow, you have to measure the pros and cons of acquiring it, facing the idea that only a quality mixer will perform such task well, they are also more resistant to daily work, they need less repairing, and they are normally easy to repair, look also carefully the energy necessary to produce concrete, this could reveal a high bill at the end of the month.

 For homeowners, for tasks like repairing, a concrete mixer between 140 liters and 300 liters should be the adequate, otherwise for industrial projects that need a large amount of concrete consider buying a concrete mixer between 350 liters and 1000 liters, but always depends on the project.

 If you are going to choose the best concrete mixer for a specific application, you must consider these factors, location of the construction site, the amount of concrete needed, the construction schedule, and the amount of concrete that you will need.

Although specific advance on how to buy a mixer is not given, I suppose every dear readers would have gotten some ideas to set up their own standards. And I believe that bearing the above in mind, everyone can be a successor or winner in the purchasing a mixers. Good luck to all my dear readers.

The Chinese cement industry is known as the number one in the world, leaving behind developed markets such as the U.S and Japan. Drawn by this tend, Chinese concrete machinery industry also ranks the top among the whole world’s. Recently, its’ 2008-2009-new market report has just been published officially. According to this report, China has established a comprehensive industrial system of this field, called the “one plant, three vehicles “,including concrete mixing plant, concrete mixer truck, concrete pump and concrete pumping vehicle.To be specific, after decades of development, concrete machinery has become a key part of engineering machinery in China, with considerable production capacity and accounting for 6% of the whole construction machinery industry.

concrete mixing plant

concrete mixer truck

concrete pump

concrete pumping vehicle

 Even faced with global economic slowdown in 2008, Chinese concrete machinery export still maintained a good growth. In 2008, 2,149 concrete pumps were exported, valuing at US$102.92 million. In quantity, the export increased 13.5%; but in capital, the export decreased 24.1%; the average export prices rose somewhat. Only 3,263 concrete mixers were exported, up 21.9% from 2007; the export valued US$ 188.42 million, 37.4% up over 2007, maintaining continuous increase.   

Currently, in Chinese concrete machinery industry, there are more than 200 enterprises, producing diversified products. China has the leading status in the production of concrete pumps. In 2007, SANY Heavy Industry Co., Ltd participated in the construction of Shanghai World Financial Center with 492 meters in height. At the end of Dec 2008, Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Development Co., Ltd. transferred super viscous C100 high-performance concrete pumps to Guangzhou International Financial Center (West Tower) with the height of 432 meters by super high-pressure concrete pump. In 2008, SANY successfully manufactured a 72-meter pump, the highest pump in the world.

Shanghai World Financial Center	Guangzhou International Financial Center

 In addition to the conventional specifications of 32m, 37m, 42m, 45m, 48m, 52m and 56m, SANY also produces the products of 38m and 40m. In January, 2007, SANY produced the super long-arm pump with 66m. However, the main specifications of SANY are 37m, 45m, 48 and 56m. The specifications of Zoomlion’s pumps ranges from 37m to 56m, but the specifications applied most widely are 37m, 44m and 47m. Putzmeister Shanghai factory produces such key models as 36m, 38m, 42m and 46m. The mainstream models of Shanghai Hold Machinery Co., Ltd. are 22m, 37m, 40m, 43m and 47m. It is worth mentioning that the short-arm pumps with the length of below 27m only include the ones of 25m produced by SANY and 22m by Shanghai Hold Machinery. The current sale of short-arm pumps account for less than 2% of that of the overall pumps, but the cost of short-arm pumps is low, which benefits the construction of buildings in dense urban areas, so the development of short-arm pumps is promising.

Concrete machinery is technology-intensive, capital-intensive and personnel-intensive, so it is difficult to enter the field. The main barriers for entering the concrete machinery industry lie in technical capabilities, qualifications, financial strength and customer service. Concrete trucks, concrete pumps and vehicle pumps are the modified automobiles, which are subject to the industrial policies of China. The manufacturers must be qualified for the production of civil converted vehicles, and they must complete test reports and apply for bulletin catalog to the government before marketing each vehicle. In general, the application period lasts long.

To most common people in Taiwan, the Typhoon Morakot is a destructive natural disaster. To some others, it can also mean something positive. Companies of construction and machinery field are all sensing the commercial opportunity in Morakot. Among them, who will become the biggest winner? The answer might be cement plants. It is commonly predicted that building materials especially cements will increase dramatically after Typhoon Morakot battered the island leaving over 100 people dead and causing buildings to collapse amid the worst rains on record.

Buildings are collapsing in Morakot

Bridges is also broken in Morakot

As a matter of face, such a prediction has already been proved by the figures from Stock Market. On Aug 10, stocks of the several cement corporations all experienced an unparalleled rise. Taiwan Cement Corp. climbed 3.5 percent to NT$38.50, the most since July 23, and surged as high as 7 percent during Taipei trading. Asia Cement Corp. (1102 TT) rose 3.1 percent to NT$36.70, the highest since June 12. Construction company Highwealth Construction Corp. (2542 TT) surged by its 6.9 percent daily limit to NT$38.75, the most since July 20. The benchmark stock index added 0.1 percent.

Taiwan Cement Corp.

Cement industry is flourishing

“These shares will outperform the market, as demand for re-building in flooded areas will be strong,” said Taipei-based KGI Securities Co. trader Randy Chang by telephone. 

Morakot left at least 106 people dead in Taiwan and destroyed more than NT$8 billion in agricultural production after the worst rains in a century, the government said.

The typhoon resulted in buildings collapsing, including The King Shai Hotel in Taidong, south-eastern Taiwan, which crumbled into a river after flooding undermined its foundations. Floods also forced the closure of 51 bridges. Their rebuilding will create a great demand for the cement.

When the global economy is in its recession and the construction market is gloomy, Morakot really provide the cement industry a remarkable opportunity. To some small companies, the chance is even of live-or-dead significance.

In my last post, I show you how to repair concrete, which is a common task that many people would have to deal with. Besides repairing, another thing that people always do with concrete is to clean it. So today I would like to teach you how to do the cleaning.

clean concretes are beautiful

Concrete surface round the home the surface of concrete road can get dirty easily. From oil stains on a concrete driveway or garage floor to spills on concrete slabs around pools, there is likely to be a need to engage in concrete cleaning at one time or another. If you are faced with the task of ridding your concrete surfaces of blemishes and stains, here are some methods that may be ideal for your situation.

One of the more common issues with concrete drives and garage floors is the presence of deep stains. These are usually created by oil spills and other fluids that leak from the engine of a vehicle. Fortunately, there are a couple of simple methods that will make a big difference when cleaning concrete. First, purchase a highly absorbent brand of cat litter. Sprinkle the litter over the stain and leave it in place for a couple of days. Sweep the litter away and examine the stain. Cat litter will lift a stain that has not seeped too deeply into the concrete. If the stain is now gone, you are done.

cat litter

sprinkle cat litter over the stain

When a more stubborn stain is present, you will need to apply a second strategy to the task of cleaning concrete. Place an even layer of concrete powder over the stain. Make sure the powder is dry, and do not allow it to get wet from rain while the layer is setting on the concrete surface. The powder will leach into the concrete and draw the deeper stain out of the concrete. As with the cat litter, allow the powder to remain in place for a couple of days, then remove the powder. The stain will be gone in most cases.

However, if these simple approaches to cleaning concrete do not completely clear the stain, you will need to employ a power washer. Make sure to use a cleaning agent that is recommended for power washing concrete surfaces. While you can try a pressure washing with hot water, that really stubborn stain is much more likely to disappear by using a power washer.

One way to minimize the chances for a deep stain is to apply a sealant to the concrete once the surface is clean. By creating a barrier between the concrete and any liquids or other agents that may spill onto the surface, you can make the task of cleaning concrete much easier and also save you a lot of money on equipment rental. The sealant will also give your concrete surface more of a finished look, which will only enhance the appeal of your home.

apply a sealant to the concrete

Reading this title, I suppose many of you may burst in laughter.

“Are you kidding me? Is there any technique in repairing concrete?” Some readers would question.

cracked concrete

concrete repair

The answer is absolute yes. Although repairing concrete is common and plain work, it calls for techniques too. Regardless of them, you cannot do the repairing well. For the worse, you can even make yourself hurt. Generally speaking, the whole process of the repairing can be divided into the follow steps.

Safety is always the first step in the process of doing anything. Always wear eye protection, as concrete tends to crumble and the tiny pieces can cut your eyes, causing permanent damage. It is also recommended to wear gloves to prevent smashing your fingers or cutting your hands.

wear gloves

do not forget your glasses

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There are so various concrete mixer brands on the market that purchasers often feel confused. Different brands are of different sizes and different prices as well. So how to choose the right one?

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 Concrete is a kind of man-made stone. You make it by mixing limes, clay, sand and water. You can do the mixing either by hand or by machine. The machine is called a concrete mixer, or a cement mixer. This blog is covering the history of both concrete and concrete mixer briefly.

History of concrete

So far as we know, the Egyptians, the Mesopotamian and Greeks were among the first who used concrete, but they did not use it quite often. In stead, It is the Romans who began to use it a lot in their buildings about the time of emperor Nero, 60 AD. From then on, they used it more and more. That is why many old Romanic architectures we can still see today are made of concretes.

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