New DecoCircle slip cutter to be introduced in summer
At Ceramitec 2009, Deco Machines.com successfully introduced the new DecoBasic slip- and slip return cutter onto the market. Following this, DecoMachines.com started the R&D for the new line of cutting machines for the production of stretcher and header slips from all kinds of fired bricks. Target was the production of one flexible line for slip cutting starting from manual loading, unloading and packaging to a fully automatic and process-controlled system.
New flexible machine for slips
For the feed of individual bricks to the cutting blades of the huge installation, a high degree of automation is necessary. For this reason, for the handling and packaging of bricks and brick slips, DecoMachines.com worked together with a company active in R&D and manufacturing that supplies the clay brick and tile industry. Robots are used to take the individual bricks off the pallets, transfer them to the different cutting and sorting modules and to stack the cut (and dried) slips back onto the pallet or pack them into cardboard or polystyrene boxes.
To achieve a production target of 12 mill. stretcher slips per year in an 8-hour daily shift, with a breakage of less than 10% and strapped slip restacking onto pallets, the following concept was applied:
› 1 robot destacks the bricks
› 6 robots transfer the bricks to the cutters
› the cutters with 6 diamonds tipped blades
› 3 pick-and-place units for restacking the slips onto the pallets
For the complete production process only one operative for monitoring the process and one fork lift truck driver are needed.
DecoMachines.com can use lots of the already developed modules to complement relatively simple machines and installations for less demanding brick slip applications.
The new name DecoCircle covers the flexible concept that the development targets: the new modules connect the bricks at their point of delivery to storage of the slips. In this way, the most difficult issue that arose during the whole development was solved: how can a fully automatic installation operate reliably with up to 30% breakage?
The time to Ceramitec 2012 not enough for the development
As Jos Verheijen and his team do not use customers to test prototypes, the development time in this anti-cyclic R&D project was not enough: the DecoCircle project will not be ready in time to launch at Ceramitec. Tests of the third prototype of this machine will still be running during the exhibition.
Customers already working with DecoBasic’s know that DecoMachines.com does not stop optimizing its machines as long as Jos Verheijen is of the opinion that the machines can perform better than agreed.
Verheijen’s 35 years of experience with the former manufacturer Engineering Works Verheijen in Nijmegen and Verheijen Equipment guarantees the best value for money in brick cutting.
For interested customers, DecoMachines.com has a comprehensive website with technical specifications and photos. With the “Aurasma Lite” app, Smartfone owners can simply film the image and obtain further information.
At Ceramitec 2012 visitors can meet Jos Verheijen for talks at the Zi Brick and Tile Industry International stand in Hall B5, stand 500.
