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[July 2004]
Robotic Setting for US Brickmaker
Ceric Inc in the USA and Keller HCW (Ibbenbueren-Laggenbeck Germany) have succeeded in starting up the first setting machine in the USA for extremely rusticated facing bricks and pavers featuring a complicated tie course. The task was to automatically reproduce the well proven manual setting. In particular, the challenge was the exact setting of tie courses (bricks set in different directions in the same course).
At Redland Brick Inc's Cushwa plant, machine moulded bricks are produced by means of two Posey presses. Irregular rustic bricks are produced by strong hammering on the circulating wooden moulds. In the USA, these 'Posey' bricks are very popular, no one brick looking like another. They are characterised by conicity, trapezoidal form and mould marks on the edges.
The Ceric Inc/Keller HCW collaboration has installed a feeding device, grouping device and setting robots. In total, four facing brick sizes and three paver sizes can be set by the setting machine. The paver type 'Baby Roman', with a thickness of only 44mm, is the most difficult size and a special setting pattern has been developed for this product. In case of edge set layers, the products are stood in pairs, one against the other, so that they remain stable. Setting stability is further increased by means of additional flat layers in the upper half of the pack.
With the new robots, two kiln cars are loaded simultaneously. Setting on one kiln car is carried out by three robots. Two robots form four packs in one row. Offset by half a kiln car, the fifth pack is set down by one robot transverse to the kiln car width. If required, it is possible to load only one kiln car track with half the output.
Each setting robot is equipped with a specially designed row gripper. One gripper ledge is fixed (spring steel) and the other is coated with foam material (removable slotted foam strips). Because of the fixed and thin gripper ledge, the robot is able to move very close to the product rows which have already been set down.
For setting stretchers between headers, both gripper ledges are equipped with flaps which, if required, can be retracted by simple upwards rotation. With this, it is possible to form any layer of stretchers mixed with headers. By means of six robots, a maximum of 18,000 modular bricks (209mm x 98mm x 60mm) are set per hour.
ENDS