User:QMBrown/Volumetric Mixer

History
Although the history of the original Volumetric Mixer (also known as the mobile concrete mixer) is not entirely clear, it is generaly accepted that Harold Zimmerman, the founder of Zimmerman Industries, invented the very first Mobile Concrete Mixer in 1960. Many of the patents for the technology involving the Volumetric Mixer are held by Zimmerman Industries (15+ patents to date).

Timeline: 1960 - Harold M. Zimmerman designed the first Mobile Concrete Mixer.

1962 - Irl Daffin begins process to purchase manufacturing rights.

1964 - First "Concrete-Mobile" unit is released.

1968 - The concrete pump is designed and developed, Morgan Manufacturing utilizes design.

1976 - Manufacturing rights purchased by Suguie for production in Japan.

How the Volumetric Mixer works
The volumetric mixer is and exceptional method of mixing concrete on site that has many advantages over other types of mixing technologies. The Volumetric Mixer, otherwise known as a mobile cement mixer, is a concrete mixing plant that’s mounted on a transport vehicle. The mixer carries the concrete materials separately from one another that include sand, cement powder, water and, coarse aggregate which are all required to produce the required fresh concrete. These materials can be mixed along with other admixtures to produce a specific concrete recipe, or several different blends of concrete, at the particular job site where the final product will be poured.

These different mix recipes are precisely blended for the different needs a job may require based on strength, certain desirable finishing properties or the rate in which the concrete needs to harden. The particular recipe design for the concrete is determined using known volumes of the separated materials in the volumetric mixers load.

First, the sand and other coarse aggregates are proportioned by adjusting the segmented “bin gates” that carry these materials to the desired height as determined by machine operator. Next, the cement powder is accurately blended with the sand and coarse aggregate using a unique auger delivery system. Finally, a particular amount of water is pumped into the materials being mixed through a discharge chute to combine all elements in their desired quantities.

Once the determined mix is in the discharge chute, the auger continues to thoroughly mix the blend of ingredients to produce a uniform amount of concrete to be poured.

The Advantages of the Volumetric Mixer over traditional "plant based" concrete mixing.
The advantage of the Volumetric Mixer

Their are many advantages of using a volumetric mixer over other cement mixing technologies.

All of the ingredients that that are necessary to creating concrete are stored in separate compartments on the unit (as mentioned above). Other methods of producing concrete rely on having the cement mixed at a central plant then delivering it to the required job site. Making the cement and then hauling it to location can cause a lot of headaches when it comes to the concrete application.

- Volumetric mixing on site will allow you to produce the exact amount of concrete needed

-This method of on site mixing allows for you to mix several different blends with only having to haul one load of materials. If you mix at the plant, and different blends of concrete are required, this can cause timely delays in finishing the project as each blend must be delivered separately.

- The reuse of materials that are not needed will allow you to bring all unused materials back to the plant or the next job site without having to worry about the concrete drying as it is not mixed yet.

-Cleanup of the pour is a breeze as there is only one central container that needs to be cleaned, the mixing auger. If you pre-mix at the planet you need to clean out the trucks hauling compartment and the mixing environment at the plant as well.

- Ordering concrete with a volumetric mixer is less of a hassle as with other mixing methods you may over or under estimate the amount of concrete needed. This optimizes the ordering process as well as cutting down on waste.

As you can see, the volumetric mixer is a great method for businesses that want to maximize their return on investment and optimize their work process and scheduling of time and materials.

Resources
How the Volumetric Mixer Works - Hubpages
 * The Volumetric Concrete Mixer - Article by John Francis
 * How The Volumetric Mixer Works

Category:Concrete Category:Construction