Concrete mixing plants have been designed into different types by manufacturers to suit individual needs. These different types will help cater different requirements.
There are two main types of concrete mixing plants:
- Dry mix concrete mixing plant
- Wet mix concrete mixing plant
As the name suggests dry mix plants make recipes that are dry before they dispatch the same into a transit mixer. All the required materials like aggregates, sand and cement are weighed and then dispatched into a transit mixer. Water is added into the transit mixer. On the way to the site, concrete is mixed inside the transit mixer.
In case of wet mix type machines, the materials are weighed individually and then added into a mixing unit the mixing unit will homogeneously mix the materials and then dispatch the same into a transit mixer or a pumping unit. Also known as central mix plants, they offer a much more consistent product as all the ingredients are mixed in a central location in a computer assisted environment which ensures uniformity of the product.
When we talk about the styles, there are two major styles that we can categorise the same: stationary and mobile. Stationary type is usually preferred by contractors who want to product from a single place, they do not have to change sites more often. The size of the stationary mixers is also bigger compared to the mobile type. Today, mobile concrete mixing plant are also reliable, productive, accurate and designed to perform for years to come.
Type of mixers: There are basically 5 types of mixing units: reversible drum type, single shaft, twin shaft type, planetary and pan type.
Reversible drum mixer as the name suggests is a drum that will move in both the directions. Its rotation in one direction will facilitate mixing and its rotation in the opposite direction will facilitate discharge of materials. Tilting and non tilting type of drum mixers are available.
Twin shaft and single shaft offer mixing using shafts driven by high horsepower motors. It is widely accepted in European countries. Planetary and pan type mixers are mostly used for pre cast applications.
