Concrete Block Mold Division Plate Flatness Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Concrete blocks formed front-face-up in conventional molds often have top and bottom surfaces that are not flat and parallel, which complicates their assembly in mortar-less walls and increases manufacturing expenses due to excessive use of cementitious materials.
Innovation Solution
A concrete block mold with a division plate secured in channels within the side walls, minimizing play and using an optimized concrete mixture with reduced cementitious material content, sand, coarse aggregates, and water to maintain block stability and geometry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If blocks are formed front-face-up in a conventional block mold, then the front face can be contacted by a stripper shoe to impart a desired three-dimensional pattern, but the top and bottom surfaces are not flat and parallel
Solution Approach 1:
The mold is segmented into fixed side walls and movable side walls that can independently pivot. The division plates are secured in channels within the fixed side walls, separating the functions of front face formation (fixed) and side surface formation/discharge (movable). This segmentation allows the top and bottom surfaces to be formed by stable, non-movable division plates, ensuring flatness and parallelism while still enabling front face patterning.
Solution Approach 2:
The division plates are pre-secured in the fixed side walls before the molding process begins. This preliminary securing of the division plates in a stable, non-movable position ensures that the top and bottom surfaces are formed with the required flatness and parallelism from the start of the molding process, preventing dimensional variations.
2Manufacturing precision
If the percentage of cementitious materials in the concrete mixture is increased, then the stability and dimensional control of the resulting concrete block is improved, but the manufacturing expense increases
Solution Approach 1:
The concrete mixture is formulated with optimized proportions of cementitious materials, sand, coarse aggregates, and water to provide sufficient stability and dimensional control on its own, without requiring excessive cementitious materials. The fixed side walls with secured division plates provide the necessary structural support, allowing the concrete mixture to achieve required dimensional control with minimized cement content.
Solution Approach 2:
The concrete mixture parameters are optimized to use the minimum necessary amount of cementitious materials while still achieving acceptable block properties and dimensional control. The mixture composition is carefully balanced to provide sufficient stability with reduced cement content, leveraging the stable mold structure to compensate for lower cementitious material content.
3Productivity
If movable side walls are used to form the side faces of the block-forming cavity, then the blocks can be discharged through the bottom of the mold, but the division plates must be positioned to allow sufficient clearance
Solution Approach 1:
The mold structure is segmented into fixed side walls containing secured division plates and separate movable side walls. This segmentation allows the division plates to be firmly positioned in the fixed side walls to ensure precise top and bottom surface formation, while the movable side walls independently pivot to enable block discharge without interfering with division plate positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The fixed side walls act as an intermediary structure that securely holds the division plates in position, mediating between the need for precise division plate positioning and the need for movable side walls to enable discharge. The channels within the fixed side walls provide a stable mounting structure for the division plates, ensuring minimal play while allowing the movable side walls to pivot freely.
Data Source
AI summary
A concrete block mold division plate for front-face-up block molding. The division plate fits into a channel formed in each of the side walls of the mold. A plurality of fasteners secure the division plate within each channel and to the side walls of the mold. The division plate operates in conjunction with an optimized dry cast concrete mixture to provide acceptable control of the flatness and parallelism of the top and bottom surfaces of the blocks.