Transfer and Handling Systems from HESS,
To make the production process of concrete products economical, efficient transfer and handling systems are neccessary alongside mixing and production
machinery. To transfer, buffer and store fresh and cured product, HESS offers a wide program of proven solutions.
Especially with respect to paver production, cycletimes under 10 seconds are no longer a rare occurrence. Therefore, the logistics and the product flow
between the wet and dry sides are deciding factors in the quality and efficiency of the concrete production.
Fully-automated handling systems, which are designed for individual customer needs are becoming more and more important in the production of concrete stone
products.
Transport Wet Side
In front of our production machinery we have our proven walking beams or belt drives to transport the fresh product. The fresh product is conveyed to an
elevator that receives and collects the fresh product for further transport.
Washing Machine
Elevator/Lowerator
HESS Elevators and Lowerators have a load capacity of up to 24 tons. Depending what load is needed 2 or 4 electric drives are used. The carrying angles are
especially shaped to center the boards in the Elevator/Lowerator.
To avoid long waiting times when the Finger car is called by the Elevator and Lowerator at the same time, buffer carts can be used. This guarantees a smooth
and uninterrupted product flow. Elevators and Lowerators from HESS are also available with maintenance platforms.
Finger car
For transporting the concrete products to and from the curing racks our heavy duty finger car is used. Designed for loads up to 24 tons the fingercar is
powered by servo motors and equipped with remote controls. This gives HESS finger cars a great deal of accuracy and safety in a fully-automated production.
Finger cars can be equipped with turning devices and fork adjustments.
Curing racks
Zinc-coated curing racks are designed to reflect the requirements of the customer as regards spacing, number, and distance of layers and load factors. Curing
racks can be enclosed as well as insulated and equipped with heating systems. Loading and unloading of the product happens with an automated roll door
control.
Once curing of the product is completed, the product is transported to the dryside by the finger car and transfered to the Lowerator.
Transport dry side and cubing
Depending on the system, latch conveyors or walking beams are used to transport cured product to the cubing station. Walking beams have proven themselves to
be the smoothest method of transporting product. This is an advantage to the product as well as the production boards.
If necessary, the dry side can be equipped with a stone squeezer and doubler. A regrouping unit is used to reconfigure a product layer. This consists of 2
movable tables and a pusher. To protect surfaces of curb stones, an automated slat inserting system can be used.
Cuber
Depending on the model, HESS cubers can carry up to 2 tons. The unit is driven by tooth belts and powered by modern servo drives. This allows short cycle
times, high positioning accuracy, and a low wear factor.
Optional electric clamps with adjustable clamping force or vacuum clamps to pick up products as thin as 30mm thickness can be used.
Board Return with Buffering System
To return the production boards back to the machine, different systems can be used.
It makes a lot of sense to integrate a board buffer, so wet and dry side are not dependent on each other. Sometimes a buffering is neccessary when a high
product is being made and only every second level is loaded.
Before the boards are buffered, they are cleaned and, if necessary, oiled.
Buffering the boards involves stacking and storing the boards in the buffer area, and then destacking again before they are transported to the production
machine.
Depending on capacity and area the following systems are available:
- Board transfer with powered buffer chain
- Board transfer cart with powered buffer chain
- Board finger car
- Board crane
Transport of Finished Cubes
The finished cubes of product are being transported out of the building, with or without shipping pallets, so they can be picked up by forklift. They can
either be strapped vertically and horizontally or they can be plastic-wrapped with a top sheet.
To transport cubes, slat conveyors, walking beams, trolley systems or chain drives can be used. A cube crane can be used to buffer cubes to increase the
flexibility of the forklift drivers. Shipping pallets can also be buffered.
