The volumetric concrete mixer business is a rather unique one. It may sometimes feel overwhelming to try to get into this side of concrete production. However, the business can be broken down to a few questions that can be relatively simple to answer. When considering a volumetric mixer, ask your sales contact these questions:
You can find more information on our web, so please take a look.
How much concrete do I need to produce to be profitable?
Maybe the most important question; How do I make money? If possible, ask your sales rep to take you through a ROI (Return on Investment) sheet to truly understand the finances. To determine this, there are a few things we need to analyze:
- What are your annual business operating expenses?
- How much does it cost you to produce one cubic meter/yard?
- How much can you sell one cubic meter/yard for?
- How many cubic meters/yards can you pour in a year?
Although these can be great numbers to reference, you must also make sure you understand how you are structuring your business. For example, if your goal is to supply yourself with concrete, those numbers will not be able to take into consideration how much time you saved, how many additional jobs you will be able to take on each year, and how your crew&#;s efficiency has been affected by not having to wait on concrete.
As a rule of thumb, if you can approach 2,000 cubic meters a year or 2,500 cubic yards a year, you should be able to turn a profit while paying off your equipment on a 5-year payment period.
How do I choose the right chassis?
Bay-Lynx can provide you with a chassis brand of your choice or can work with your local truck provider if you wish to use them as the source of your chassis. We can provide axle ratings and computer simulated weight distributions for you, so you know what your legal carrying capacity is for your model. All of the major truck brands can provide a suitable chassis but there are things that we recommend you look for when spec&#;ing a truck:
- Transmission: if possible, we recommend an Allison Transmission as an automatic transmission is the most effective way to have a roll-and-pour feature to allow your truck to move without shutting down your mixer.
- Engine: Over 400 HP recommended (but not required).
- Frame clearance: Depending on the model selected but talk to your salesman on the CA/CT length required for your model.
How much material can I carry?
This varies depending on your federal/provincial/state transportation laws. Sometimes customers say they want to carry 10 meters/12 yards of material, but it is our responsibility to inform them that just because they can fit enough material in their mixer for 10 meters/12 yards does not mean that they will be road legal. Consult with your local sales rep to see how much material a volumetric mixer can carry in your area.
What knowledge should my operator have?
An increasingly challenging dilemma facing volumetric companies is finding skilled operators. We at Bay-Lynx have aided to combat that by automating much of the set-up normally needed to be done by the operator. However, your ideal operator can identify concrete quality/slump by looking at it. Also, your operator should have the skills for machinery operation rather than solely truck driving.
What concrete can my volumetric mixer produce?
Pretty much any concrete a ready-mix plant can produce. Make sure you have this discussion with your sales rep as he can cover all your concrete needs and mix designs as it relates to your mixer. If you plan on producing coloured concrete or fibre reinforced concrete, your salesman can equip a fibre feeder and colour feeder to your machine. Treat this as an additional revenue source. Bay-Lynx machines have the ability to mix zero slump mixes as well.
How do I choose my materials?
Contact a local quarry for your sand and stone materials. Any time you change suppliers of your materials, your machine should be re-calibrated to fit the new material density and shape. For more on aggregates, see our article here.
What about cement storage?
Cement storage comes in two forms: silo and bagged cement. Bagged cement can be useful for delivering cement on site. Be cautious that your bagged cement does not come into contact with any moisture. Bagged cement can be loaded with a forklift/loader.
Although bagged cement might seem more convenient, they are much more expensive in comparison to buying high quantity cement that is loaded straight into a silo.
What about winter pouring?
If you live in a colder climate winter pouring may be a concern. We recommend limiting usage in freezing temperatures. If it is necessary for you to keep busy in the colder season, here are some things to consider:
Aggregate:
Aggregates are very important to keep controlled for temperature. The last thing you need is clumps of frozen material preventing your material from being metered properly. We recommend storing your material on heated pads with a tarp to protect from any moisture. If heated pads are not a possibility, try storing your material in a heated indoor facility the night before usage.
Water and Admixes:
Load warm temperature water in your tank. The water tank can withstand temperatures up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius). Do not try to exceed that mark.
Another option would be to install a heat exchanger that reroutes the engine coolant with your water. This technique can maintain your water temperature but is not reliable for heating your water temperature.
Excess admixtures should be drained after the workday.
What does the maintenance look like?
The most important component of the mixer is the auger as it is the only component that comes in contact with the concrete. Your wear blades should be changed at least once per season depending on the mix designs you are pouring. Low slump mixes are subject to more wear than high slump mixes. Also remain active on your lubrication schedule. Your machine requires weekly lube points as well as a couple of daily lube points to make sure bearings are kept in good condition.
What about financing?
Financing can be quite simple as truck dealers are happy to finance the entire package. This is usually the recommended route to keep things simple for the customer. Bay-Lynx works with several sources for financing and can put you in touch with them anytime to help with your financing needs.
If you have any more questions about the process of purchasing a volumetric mixer, our sales team at Bay-Lynx is standing by. Give us a shout at 905-304-.
When manufacturing products for the food, nutrition, bakery and chemical sectors, it is likely that you will need to blend a mix of powder ingredients. In the majority of applications, blending is the most important process to increase the value of the product. If you are handling a wide range of ingredients, some of these may pose an allergen risk and whilst several manufacturers are willing to make significant investments by installing the highest speed mixers and packing lines, it does not necessarily mean it will deliver a strong return on investment and long-term efficient solution.
The most important thing to consider is whether to batch or continuously manufacture. If you need to swap recipes on a regular basis or produce the same product day in day out, then your application will be better suited to certain blender types.
Do you need to blend a variety of products?
If you only have a requirement to manufacture one recipe in a large volume with no regular changes needed then you should continuously process with a fixed mixer coupled to the upstream and downstream processes. However, with more manufacturers finding that consumers are requesting recipe variety, changes need to be made quickly and efficiently. If you are finding that you need to change recipes and use varied ingredients regularly then batch processing would be the best way to manufacture.
Even if you are an experienced powder processing professional, technology moves on and the choice of mixers continues to expand. To help you select the right industrial mixer for your application, we have listed 5 key considerations for manufacturer&#;s who are looking to select an industrial powder mixer for blending as part of a batch processing programme.
See how the IBC Blender eliminates the time consuming cleaning associated with traditional static mixers.
For more information, please visit Jiangyin Chenyuan Machinery.
The Characteristics of the Powder
Are you handling free-flowing powders with similar particle sizes? If this is the case and you know that your recipe will mix easily then a gentle blending programme will be best suited using either a tumble-blender or ribbon blender.
If you are handling sticky, cohesive powders and need them to mix homogeneously, you will need to work the mixture to force the particles to fold together. A blender that offers high shear capability in the form of intensifiers would be required. It is vital that the right amount of shear is applied to blend the particles. If this process is mismanaged then particle degradation and heat may build-up in the mixture.
The Size of the Batch Being Produced
Although large blenders have the ability to accommodate a full order size, it is likely that the load time and cleaning times will increase. Considerations need to be given to the time it takes to fill the blender by ripping and tipping 25kg sacks and then to discharge the mixed product to a packing line - you also have cleaning! Whilst the mixer is being loaded, emptied and cleaned it is not in use, leading to large amount of downtime.
If your customers require the same order sizes each time then a fixed mixer may work well until variable batch sizes are required. When using a tumble blender, you will be given the ability to blend a range of batch sizes in one blender as the mixing is done in the Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC). This gives you the option to choose the size of the container needed and reduce the amount of downtime.
Understand the True Mixing Time
Try not to be misled by the suggestion of a 4 minute blend time. The full end to end process time that includes all stages of blending from filling through to packing and cleaning needs to be taken into account. The time it takes to get your mixer back into operation and ready for the next batch could actually mean 2 hours to load and then 3 hours for packing.
Whilst IBC Blending might take a little longer to complete a full blend cycle, the formulation can be completed off-line. As the IBC is also removed from the blender and packed separately the mixer can be re loaded and set back into action. By running the filling, mixing and packing process steps in parallel means you save a significant amount of time, with the added benefit that the blender will not need to be cleaned.
How easy is it to clean your Industrial Mixer?
Some fixed blenders with multiple moving parts can lead to product loss. All fixed mixers will inevitably have some product left inside either the base of the mixer bowl or sticking to the sidewalls, paddles or bearings. Not only does this lead to large amounts of waste long term but also potential contamination across batches.
As mentioned above the true time of blending in an IBC will also include cleaning. If you need to take the fixed mixer apart, remove the contact parts and then perform a full wet wash with drying times factored in then the mixer will be out of action for a significant amount of time. Further considerations should be paid to:
The fact remains that cleaning down and drying a fixed mixer takes a significant amount of time, it is labour intensive and wastes materials however with in-bin blending, the recipe is blended in the container, which can then be cleaned &#;off-line&#;. Once cleaned, IBCs can be returned to the manufacturing process to maintain an efficient process flow.
Risk of Cross-Contamination
As the number of ingredients used in recipes increases, so does the potential for allergens to be present. It is a challenge for manufacturers to perform recipe changeovers and clean-downs efficiently and effectively. As fixed mixers and in-line conveying systems are coupled, it can take a long time to clean parts and equipment between batches and then validate that the production line is actually clean.
If you are mixing various recipes on the same blender then there is a high risk of cross-contamination. To reduce any risks, some companies dedicate a single blender to recipes containing allergens. Whilst this can be an option if only one additional fixed mixer is needed, it is not good practice or economical if you need half a dozen!
IBC blending provides manufacturers with a simple, safe solution. The IBCs are used for one recipe and then cleaned (offline) before being reintroduced to the process. As there are no blender parts in contact with the product the same blender can be used again on a different batch.
Containers with butterfly valves can still experience mix segregation issues due to core flow. Cone Valve IBCs offer the best way to stop segregation as the product flows under mass-flow discharge meaning that all particles move down through the bin in unison.
Some things to remember when blending powders:
It is possible to reduce the amount of time wasted in cleaning.
Better efficiency at the blending process stage could increase output resulting in a higher number of batches being produced in a single shift.
A tumble blender will reduce the number of operators required for cleaning.
Using Matcon IBCs with integral Cone Valve technology means that no product is left in the container.
It is possible to manufacture a wide range of recipes and batch sizes efficiently.
It is important that you are not selecting what appears to be the cheapest option in the short term. Remember not to focus on just the blend time and be wowed by fast mixers that will actually lead to large amounts of downtime and a poor ROI. Make sure you invest in a flexible manufacturing system which gives you a competitive advantage.
Final Thoughts
Download our guide to improving manufacturing flexibility by clicking on the button below, or visit our blending pillar resource page for more help and advice on common blending issues and how to overcome them.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Mixer Machine Exporter.