Masonry Magazine October 1979 Page. 20
TRI-DELTA BLOCK PLANT
continued from page 19
The kiln is filled to the proper depth, which is governed by the electronic controls. After unloading its green block, the upper unit returns to the base unit.
The block in the kiln are steam cured, with the curing time approximately 3 hours at a temperature of 150 degrees F. The doors of the kiln are automatically raised and lowered when the transfer car seeks out either to load or discharge. Each of the 14 kilns holds 200 pallets. (See photo No. 7.)
From this holding lowerator the steel pallets with cured block are gently lowered onto the hydraulic conveyor. This transfers the steel pallets loaded with cured block to the hydraulic cross-pusher, which removes the block from the steel pallets. (See photo No. 9.)
The cured block are pushed onto a tilting table and tilted up to make the bases. After a cube of bases is made, the tilting table goes back to its original position and the block are pushed over it to a separating table. The bases are then placed one by one on the conveyor, and the upper part of the cube is stacked.
In the event the machine is producing block that cannot be used for bases, the wood pallet feeder is activated.
Photo No. 9-Overall view showing most of the operations on the flow chart for the cubing area.
Photo No. 8-Transfer unit delivering cured block to the lowerator. See detail 13 on flow chart.
When the block have been properly cured, the transfer system is electronically informed, and the transfer car positions itself at the kiln entrance prior to discharge. The upper unit travels into the kiln, seeks out its load, returns to the lower unit, and the load is transferred to the cubing area. The transfer car, after positioning itself at its siding, discharges the upper unit with the cured block for positioning on the cubing area holding lowerator. (See photo No. 8.)
Photo No. 10-Tilting table operation in the cubing area.
20 MASONRY/OCTOBER, 1979
Photo No. 11-Forklift picking up the cube of block. See detail 22 on flow chart.