Continuous Building Material Mixing System with Calibrated Feed Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for delivering building materials lack efficiency in continuously feeding and mixing materials at construction sites, particularly in calibrating feed rates and ensuring proper ratios of materials like sand and binders to produce composite materials such as cement or concrete.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a container with holding bins, feed tubes, a pre-mixer, and a continuous mixer, equipped with drive systems, scales, and a computerized control system to calibrate and mix materials, including the option to recycle unused materials, and integrate with a transport device for efficient delivery to construction sites.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If materials are fed through a continuous feeding system to a building site, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing precision of material ratios deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the feeding process into separate stages: individual feeding of each material type through separate feed tubes, pre-mixing in a pre-mixer, and final mixing in a continuous mixer. This segmentation allows independent control of each material's feed rate while maintaining continuous operation, resolving the contradiction between continuous feeding and precise ratio control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary calibration by moving test batches of materials through the feeding system to determine accurate feed rates before actual production. This preliminary action ensures that when continuous feeding begins, the material ratios are already calibrated to precise specifications, maintaining both continuity and precision.
2Manufacturing precision
If a complex mixing system with multiple components is used to ensure accurate material ratios, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system combines multiple feeding functions into integrated feed tubes that handle different materials sequentially, merges pre-mixing and continuous mixing operations into a coordinated two-stage process, and integrates calibration functionality within the existing feeding workflow. This merging reduces overall system complexity while maintaining precise mixing ratios.
Solution Approach 2:
The feed tubes are designed to be universal components that can handle different material types (sand, binder, etc.) by simply changing the material being fed. The same feed tube infrastructure serves multiple purposes: calibration, actual feeding, and handling various material types, reducing the need for separate dedicated components for each function.
3Manufacturing precision
If test batches are moved through the system for calibration, then manufacturing precision is improved, but loss of time occurs during calibration process
Solution Approach 1:
The calibration process is performed as a preliminary step before full production begins. Test batches are moved through the feeding system once to establish accurate feed rates, and this calibration data is then used for continuous operation. This preliminary calibration minimizes ongoing time loss while ensuring precise manufacturing ratios.
Solution Approach 2:
The test batches used for calibration are not wasted but are instead recycled back into the feeding system to be mixed and delivered along with production materials. This recovery approach eliminates the need to discard calibration materials and reduces overall material waste, partially offsetting the time investment in calibration.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and process for mixing and distributing building materials. This system and process can also include a way or a means for calibrating the mixing of these materials. This system and process can also include a system for tracking the materials that flow through the system, and for controlling the type of material used in the system.