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Concrete is the most familiar building element. The densest and strongest concrete is that in which cement paste fills the voids with the sand and the resulting mortar fills the voids in the coarse aggregate. Every grain of sand should be entirely coated with cement. Before the invention of the mixing machine, the entire mixing process used to be done by hand, shovel, shallow box. But now due to the high demand in construction, different types of mechanical procedures and machines are used for mixing. The concrete mixer was invented by Gebhardt Jaeger who was an industrialist at Columbus, Ohio.

In this article definitions and different types of concrete mixer machines are discussed fully.

What is a Concrete Mixer?

A concrete mixer is a machine for making a homogeneous combination of cement, aggregate (sand or gravel), admixtures, and water. The machine setup is composed of mixing drums, feeding devices, unloading mechanisms, water supply systems, prime mover, and transmission mechanisms. The machine basically promotes the collision between particles and the development of dispersion. Usually, this machine has three basic units: Feeding unit, Mixing unit, Discharge Unit.

Types of Concrete Mixers

As technology has changed, the basic mixer design has also evolved. Concrete mixers can be divided into general mixers and forced mixers. Nowadays, twin shaft mixers, vertical axis mixers, and drum mixers are the most commonly used mixing machines.

The followings are the types of concrete mixing machines.

A brief description of these types of mixture machines is given below.

Batch Concrete Mixer

Batch mixers are those into which measured ingredients are placed, mixed, and discharged as one mass. This is in contrast to a continuous mixer, where materials are fed into the device continually, creating an ongoing supply of the product.

Features:

• Has extremely high capacity (batches of up to 1 thousand gallons or liters).
• Consists of drum mixers, pan mixers, and open-top mixers.
• Many types of batch mixers (e.g. Gravity, revolving drum, cube, etc).
• Gravity mixers are made stationary.
• Revolving mixers contain shelves and projections on the inside and drum is revolved to mix the materials.

Continuous Concrete Mixer

Continuous mixers are those into which ingredients are fed continuously and discharge occurs as a steady stream. The loading of materials is done continuously by screw feeders.

Features:

• Productivity higher is than the batch mixer.
• Material proportion and mixing time are difficult to control.
• Feeding, mixing, and discharging processes go on in a longer mixing drum continuously.

Self Loading Concrete Mixer

Self-loading mixers are those which can automatically produce and transport concrete on-site.

Features:

• Efficient as they can load them themselves (Don't need any Auxiliary equipment!).
• Useful for small and narrow construction.
• Four-wheels drove, low pressures and wide tires, swing rear axles (provides good off-road performance).
• Motor and hydraulic system and electronic weighing system.
• Consists of a rotating drum mounted on an operator-driven cab-mounted chassis frame fitted with a loading bucket.
• This type of mixer is best suited for sites where concrete batching plants are not available.

Compulsory Concrete Mixer

Features:

• Parts of twin-shaft compulsory mixer: Mixing device, reducer, shaft-end sealing, electric lubricating oil pump, discharging system.
• Equipped with floating oil sealing ring at each end axis.
• Full automatic system.
• Eccentric double seal design in hopper gate.
• The disc vertical axis forced concrete mixer can be divided into two types: Turboprop type and Planetary type.

Rotary or Non-Tilting Type Concrete Mixer

Rotary mixers are not allowed to tilt but use drum rotation about its horizontal axis for discharging.

Features:

• The drum is opened at two ends where one end is for pouring and another end is for discharge.
• Rapid discharge is not possible which may result in the segregation of concrete sometimes.

Tilting Type Mixer

The tilting type mixer is a mixer with the rotating drum to discharge the concrete.

Features:

• Mixes the ingredients while forward rotating and discharge downwards rapidly using gravity reversing the mixer drum.
• Used to blend plastic and semi-dry concrete.
• Low noise, stable operation, and convenient movement.
• Mixing efficiency depends on the shape of the drum, angle of the drum, size, and angle of blades.

Forced Concrete Mixers

Forced mixers are specially for hard concrete, lightweight aggregate, and liquid concrete. This is specially used in the concrete batching plant. The machine is specially designed to blend gravel and resin evenly and consistently.

Features :

• Have stirring blades equipped on the spindle arms.
• The disc vertical axis forced mixer can be divided into two types: Turboprop type and Planetary type.

Self Propelled Concrete Mixers

Features:

• Have stirring blades ranged vertically on the inside wall of the mixing drum.
• The drum rotates horizontally when fed materials are lifted and materials fall down due to gravity.

Pear-Shaped Mixer

Features:

• This is a self-loading concrete mixer.

Drum Shaped Mixer

Features:

• This is a self-loading concrete mixer.

Cone Shaped Mixer

Features:

• This a self-loading concrete mixer.

Vertical Shaft Pan Mixer

Features:

• This is a Compulsory Concrete Mixer.
• It is not only applied in common or precast concrete but also in high-performance concrete.
• Consists of the frame, stirring cover, follow-up paddle, cylinder, lifting slider mechanism, electric part, etc.
• There is a circular pan where concrete is mixed and blades arranged in star shape inside the pan.

Horizontal Shaft Mixer

Features:

• This is a Compulsory Concrete Mixer.
• Due to its horizontal design, the paddle mixer can easily mix a series of a wide range of aggregates especially the massive ones to create a more uniform slurry.
• Well suited for lightweight as well as dry hard concrete.

References:

1. https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines-equipment/cement-mixer1.htm
2. A study of Concrete Mixers by Charles Vernon Tyler (University of Illinois)

The concrete mixer is a machine that mixes cement, sand and gravel aggregates, water and admixtures into concrete. It works both alone and with other devices.

There are many types of concrete mixers, which can be divided into different types according to different classification standards.

According to different mixing principles, the concrete mixers can be divided into self-falling type and compulsory mixing type. According to whether they are movable, it can be divided into mobile type and stationary type. According to the nature of work, they can be divided into intermittent type and continuous type.

This article will introduce the four common concrete mixers and how to choose the right mixer.

Want more information on types of cement mixers? Feel free to contact us.

Drum concrete mixer

Drum concrete mixer is also called self-falling concrete mixer. The mixing drum lifts the material to a high place during the stirring process, and then the material falls down with the help of its own gravity, and the dropped material achieves the effect of uniform stirring during the rotation of the drum. The mixing drum rotates forward for stirring and reverses for discharging.

Because of its low investment cost and low maintenance cost, the drum concrete mixer is mainly suitable for small and medium-sized projects.

Depending on the power, drum mixers can be divided into two types: electric type and diesel type. In contrast, diesel concrete mixers are welcomed by more customers because they do not require an external power supply and are directly powered by diesel engines, making it more convenient to use. Generally speaking, diesel mixers are available in two models, one with a discharge of 350 liters and the other with a discharge of 500 liters.

Concrete drum mixers are generally used independently to produce concrete. Customers can choose the appropriate type and model of machines according to their actual needs.

Twin shaft concrete mixer

The twin shaft concrete mixer is a compulsory mixing machine. There are two horizontal mixing shafts inside the mixing cylinder, and the stirring blades are driven by the rotation of the mixing shafts to continuously mix the materials. The materials mixed in this way are more uniform and of better quality. In addition, the twin shaft mixer also has the characteristics of high mixing efficiency, wide application range, long service life and low failure rate.

Twin shaft mixers can generally work alone or together with other equipment. For example, it can be combined with aggregate batching machine, cement silo, screw conveyor, etc. to form a concrete mixing plant for mass production of commercial concrete. It can also be combined with aggregate batching machine, belt conveyor, block forming machine, palletizer, etc. to form a brick machine production line to produce high-quality bricks.

So, when you want to buy a twin shaft concrete mixer, you need to know its use, output and configuration. In this way, you can buy a suitable machine.

Planetary concrete mixer (Vertical shaft mixer)

The vertical shaft mixer is relative to the horizontal shaft, because its shape looks like a planet, so it is also called a planetary mixer. Planetary mixer is also a kind of compulsory mixer.

The mixing arm and mixing blade of the planetary concrete mixer are compound movements of revolution and rotation, and the mixing trajectory is complex, which can achieve a more uniform and efficient mixing effect. It is widely used in prefabricated components, concrete bridge frames, concrete walls, refractory materials, ceramics, glass and other industries.

Planetary mixer has the advantages of compact structure, low noise, good sealing, no pollution, low energy consumption, good mixing effect, etc., and is widely welcomed by European and American customers.

Similar to twin-shaft mixers, planetary concrete mixers can work alone or together with other equipment to form a production line. If you want to produce higher-quality concrete, then a planetary mixer is a good choice.

Self loading concrete mixer

Self loading concrete mixer is a new type of mixer machine. It integrates four functions of loading, mixing, transportation and unloading, which is equivalent to a small mobile mixing plant. It can be divided into self loading drum mixer and self loading pan mixer. The main difference between the two is the mixer, the former uses a drum mixer, and the latter uses a pan mixer.

Self loading mixers have played a great role in many infrastructure projects, such as road building, foundation laying, ditches building, and tunnels building. It has the advantages of narrow body, short wheelbase and small turning radius. Therefore, for projects with limited construction sites, self loading concrete mixers are an ideal choice.

In addition, its mixing tank can be rotated 270°, so it can realize unloading on all sides without moving in place, saving time and improving efficiency. Because it is easy to operate, one person can operate the whole system, saving the manpower of 3 to 5 people.

How to choose a suitable concrete mixer?

Choosing the right concrete mixer is very important. Only equipment that meets the needs of the project can ensure production efficiency and construction progress. So, what are the factors to consider when choosing a concrete mixer?

Types of concrete mixers

As we all know, there are many types of concrete mixers, the first thing you need to determine is which type of mixer you need.

If you want to produce higher quality concrete or commercial concrete, twin shaft mixers and planetary concrete mixers are an ideal choice;

If your project is not that big and the demand for concrete output is not high, you can choose a drum concrete mixer, which can reduce your investment cost;

When you need a machine that can both produce concrete and transport the finished concrete to the construction site, consider a self loading mixer truck.

Its output

After deciding on the type of mixer machine, you also need to choose the right model. This is related to the size and duration of your project. If your project is large and the construction period is long, then a concrete mixer with a large output can meet the needs of the project. Instead, you can buy a concrete mixer with a smaller output and lower your investment costs.

It should be noted that if you want your concrete mixer to work uninterruptedly, you must first ensure that the raw materials are adequately stored, and then you must ensure the speed of batching, so as to maximize the production efficiency of the mixer.

Different configurations

If the configuration is different, the same model of concrete mixer will also have different prices. So, next you need to think about the configuration of the concrete mixer machine. Taking the twin shaft mixer as an example, you need to consider its feeding method, discharging method, lubrication method, etc.

Small size twin shaft mixers generally use hopper feeding, and large size mixers generally use belt feeding. The advantage of using belt feeding is that it can be fed continuously, ensuring the continuity of production.

The discharging methods include manual discharging, pneumatic discharging and hydraulic discharging. Lubrication methods include manual lubrication and automatic lubrication.

Manufacturer's strength and services

Finally, you also need to consider the strength and service of the mixer manufacturer. The quality of concrete mixers produced by powerful manufacturers is more guaranteed. Moreover, trusted manufacturers can provide you with better services, such as operation training, regular inspection and maintenance, and distribution of wearing parts.

To sum up, if you want to buy a suitable concrete mixer, you need to consider these factors. You can also look for a trustworthy manufacturer, and experienced engineers will give you professional advice.

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