Portable batch plants come in many configurations designed for various applications. At World of Concrete 2009 in Las Vegas, CIFA introduced to the North
Portable batch plants come in many configurations designed for various applications. At World of Concrete 2009 in Las Vegas, CIFA introduced to the North American market its dynamic modular Wet Batch portable plant line, the Compact Easy series. Featuring two models, the line suits production needs for remote, shotcrete and precast sites.
CIFA has placed more than 40 of the units in overseas operations since 2006. The main batch plant is self-contained and transportable without the need for specialized equipment. It is delivered completely assembled on a single trailer and wired for automated control, batching, conveying and mixing. Included is a fully enclosed operator cabin with control board for manual operation of the plant with digital indicators for the weigh-batchers, as well as a new PLC/PC-based automatic control system developed by CIFA.
Batching dialog interfaces between the computer control system and the operator have been developed to give a high intuitiveness to the operation to set and control production requirements. Concrete quality can be ensured with the optional installation of sand moisture-measuring devices using conductive, capacitive or microwave probes. The probes automatically transmit the measured values to the PC for calculating in real time at each batch the compensation values needed to increase the quantity of the respective sands and proportional deduction for water batching to keep constant the water/sand quantities specified in the mix design.
In special applications, it is also possible to install a consistency-control device with probes in the mixing room to ensure repeatability for each mix design. Other features of the Compact Easy models include:
- Measurement of up to four aggreagates for continuous output of 70 yd./hour;
- Admixture systems available in computer module to batch up to three kinds of liquid;
- Additives injected by independent electronic weighing systems;
- Dual sand moisture-measuring device with capacitive probes;
- Wattmetric Slump Meter system indicating the consistency value of concrete produced in the mixer Û all batch water is measured by weigh hopper;
- Cement weigh batcher suspended by three load cells and capable of as many as four cements;
- Twin-shaft, dual-mixing zone, counter-rotating mixer lined with Ni-Cr tiles and thermo-hardened, wear-resistant steel plates;
- Special shafts with automatic greasing;
- Automatic multi-jet, high-pressure mixer washing system; and,
- Mixer dust collection system, with discharge of filtered dust recycled back to mixer.
The Compact Easy series also includes a self-contained, prewired electrical system with easy-to-use plug style connections for quick assembly and disassembly. Also, the unit is equipped with special solenoid valves to control variable aggregate gate openings, depending on the flow speed of the aggregates during batch cycles to ensure accuracy. All units are built with heavy-duty, gantry-type and hot galvanized steel construction for long service life. Û CIFA USA; 877/243-2345; www.cifausa.com