What:
Calibration is essential to the operation of your mixer, whether it is brand new or has been in service for years. During the calibration process, there are several detailed procedures that take place. In order for the machine to know how much of each material is necessary to achieve your desired mix design, it must first know how much material it can manipulate at various speeds. To “teach” these ratios to the computer, it is necessary to measure a sample of material after a certain distance or time frame, and input that fixed point to the computer. Once the computer knows how much of each material it is moving at a variable rate of speed or time, it can then modify those variables to produce a perfect mix that is accurate and trustworthy!
That sounds very technical. It can be overwhelming to understand how everything works. Even the most seasoned operator can have issues with comprehending exactly what is going on behind the scenes. It’s a bit easier to imagine that the mix design is like a recipe, and the computer is like a chef. The calibration process teaches the computer (or chef) what size each of the measuring cups are.
Why:
Without a precise calibration, your machine will not be accurate. If you are inserting too much water into your mix unknowingly, the mix will obviously come out wet and your customer will be unhappy. However, much larger problems can occur when it comes to cement content or admixture levels. If your customer requests a 32 MPa mix and your machine is too far out of spec, they could end up with a lower or even higher rating. Both options are not ideal, as the job may need to be re-worked, or you will be wasting material. Mix designs that call for a very specific quantity of materials require that quantity to be measured correctly. A proper and regular calibration will ensure that this remains constant.
When:
There are a number of situations when a calibration is necessary:
Even if it’s a comparable material, there is always a slight difference. Quality of aggregates can vary depending on which quarry they come from, how long they have been sitting dormant, what the water content is, and more. All aggregates must be calibrated to provide a perfect measurement.
When a machine is first delivered, all materials must be calibrated. Without any tuning or measurement, you will not be able to pour. All aggregates, cementitious materials, water, admixtures, and color systems must be set up properly to perform and output your mix designs.
Manufacturer recommendation for calibration is semi-annually. This ensures that the information on your truck’s computer or Batchpro system stays up-to-date, and your mix designs continue to perform properly.
If a large component is repaired or updated, this can affect the current calibration on the machine. Changing parts that deliver material can directly affect output. Consider calibration after performing maintenance and upgrades.
Some customers or associations you may be part of may require a calibration before starting certain projects, or in a certain time frame. Be aware of the requirements, and make sure you are prepared to have a calibration done or perform it yourself if possible.
What:
Calibration is essential to the operation of your mixer, whether it is brand new or has been in service for years. During the calibration process, there are several detailed procedures that take place. In order for the machine to know how much of each material is necessary to achieve your desired mix design, it must first know how much material it can manipulate at various speeds. To “teach” these ratios to the computer, it is necessary to measure a sample of material after a certain distance or time frame, and input that fixed point to the computer. Once the computer knows how much of each material it is moving at a variable rate of speed or time, it can then modify those variables to produce a perfect mix that is accurate and trustworthy!
That sounds very technical. It can be overwhelming to understand how everything works. Even the most seasoned operator can have issues with comprehending exactly what is going on behind the scenes. It’s a bit easier to imagine that the mix design is like a recipe, and the computer is like a chef. The calibration process teaches the computer (or chef) what size each of the measuring cups are.
Why:
Without a precise calibration, your machine will not be accurate. If you are inserting too much water into your mix unknowingly, the mix will obviously come out wet and your customer will be unhappy. However, much larger problems can occur when it comes to cement content or admixture levels. If your customer requests a 32 MPa mix and your machine is too far out of spec, they could end up with a lower or even higher rating. Both options are not ideal, as the job may need to be re-worked, or you will be wasting material. Mix designs that call for a very specific quantity of materials require that quantity to be measured correctly. A proper and regular calibration will ensure that this remains constant.
When:
There are a number of situations when a calibration is necessary:
Even if it’s a comparable material, there is always a slight difference. Quality of aggregates can vary depending on which quarry they come from, how long they have been sitting dormant, what the water content is, and more. All aggregates must be calibrated to provide a perfect measurement.
When a machine is first delivered, all materials must be calibrated. Without any tuning or measurement, you will not be able to pour. All aggregates, cementitious materials, water, admixtures, and color systems must be set up properly to perform and output your mix designs.
Manufacturer recommendation for calibration is semi-annually. This ensures that the information on your truck’s computer or Batchpro system stays up-to-date, and your mix designs continue to perform properly.
If a large component is repaired or updated, this can affect the current calibration on the machine. Changing parts that deliver material can directly affect output. Consider calibration after performing maintenance and upgrades.
Some customers or associations you may be part of may require a calibration before starting certain projects, or in a certain time frame. Be aware of the requirements, and make sure you are prepared to have a calibration done or perform it yourself if possible.
Wayne Clint and the team at Bromfield Sand and Gravel stumbled across Bay-Lynx back in 2016 and have not looked back since.
Since 1985 Bromfield has been supplying concrete to National concrete companies in the surrounding area. When 2016 came around concrete sales to these companies were diminishing and Bromfield S&G was looking for a way to keep their concrete supply going. To continue their business in the concrete industry they looked into either buying a batch plant or a volumetric mixer. While attending the show in Birmingham they stumbled across Bay-Lynx and discussed the possibility of buying a volumetric mixer. Wayne said after the encounter with Bay-Lynx,
“We were very impressed with the knowledge and support from Bay-Lynx.”
In 2017 their first volumetric mixer arrived, soon after came the second truck and then came a third. Bromfield now owns 5 Bay-Lynx volumetric concrete mixers which run almost constantly to keep up with demand. Bromfield decided to go with volumetric mixers instead of a batch plant because they had more flexibility and gave them a competitive advantage. Wayne states,
“You can do all sorts of mixes, from dry mixes to wet mixes, all on the same day on the same truck.”
The last three trucks that Bromfield S&G bought from Bay-Lynx, have been Titans. The Titans are a very user friendly unit and have many advantages over other volumetric mixers. To start, the Titan is made from Hardox 450 steel which allows the unit to be lighter since the steel is 50% thinner and 200% stronger than regular mild steel. The Titan also comes with the BatchPro Connect system, this allows the operator to calibrate straight from his phone over Bluetooth and drastically decreases calibration time. Using the BatchPro connect operators can add or remove mixes on site straight from their phone, and allows operators to be trained in a very short time because everything is pre-programmed. In the words of Wayne,
“The Titan has brought volumetric concrete mixers leaps and bounds.”
The Titan also has advantages with the new shape of the body, with the barrel shape design of the body it makes the truck lower and more maneuverable than other volumetric mixers. The barrel shape design, combined with the features of the Hardox steel eliminates hang up points and nothing ever sticks. This ensures a more even and uniform mix throughout the entire load.
When it comes to Bay-Lynx’s technical support, the team at Bromfield S&G is very pleased with their service,
“Technicians (at Bay-Lynx) are very helpful, nine times out of ten they can talk you through fixing on site”
Wayne expanded on his point and said that the times when problems can’t be fixed on site, Bay-Lynx will come out as soon as they can, typically the same or next day.
Bromfield S&G hope to expand in the future. People are constantly looking for ways to reduce their waste and carbon footprint and volumetric trucks seem to be the answer. Volumetric mixers allow companies to service two or three customers on a single load because of their ability to change concrete mixes on demand. Wayne told us about Bromfield’s hope of expansion and said,
“We’ve only scathed the surface on the (volumetric concrete supply) market.”
Bay-Lynx is proud to provide Bromfield with high quality products and looks forward to doing more business with them in the future.
Wayne Clint and the team at Bromfield Sand and Gravel stumbled across Bay-Lynx back in 2016 and have not looked back since.
Since 1985 Bromfield has been supplying concrete to National concrete companies in the surrounding area. When 2016 came around concrete sales to these companies were diminishing and Bromfield S&G was looking for a way to keep their concrete supply going. To continue their business in the concrete industry they looked into either buying a batch plant or a volumetric mixer. While attending the show in Birmingham they stumbled across Bay-Lynx and discussed the possibility of buying a volumetric mixer. Wayne said after the encounter with Bay-Lynx,
“We were very impressed with the knowledge and support from Bay-Lynx.”
In 2017 their first volumetric mixer arrived, soon after came the second truck and then came a third. Bromfield now owns 5 Bay-Lynx volumetric concrete mixers which run almost constantly to keep up with demand. Bromfield decided to go with volumetric mixers instead of a batch plant because they had more flexibility and gave them a competitive advantage. Wayne states,
“You can do all sorts of mixes, from dry mixes to wet mixes, all on the same day on the same truck.”
The last three trucks that Bromfield S&G bought from Bay-Lynx, have been Titans. The Titans are a very user friendly unit and have many advantages over other volumetric mixers. To start, the Titan is made from Hardox 450 steel which allows the unit to be lighter since the steel is 50% thinner and 200% stronger than regular mild steel. The Titan also comes with the BatchPro Connect system, this allows the operator to calibrate straight from his phone over Bluetooth and drastically decreases calibration time. Using the BatchPro connect operators can add or remove mixes on site straight from their phone, and allows operators to be trained in a very short time because everything is pre-programmed. In the words of Wayne,
“The Titan has brought volumetric concrete mixers leaps and bounds.”
The Titan also has advantages with the new shape of the body, with the barrel shape design of the body it makes the truck lower and more maneuverable than other volumetric mixers. The barrel shape design, combined with the features of the Hardox steel eliminates hang up points and nothing ever sticks. This ensures a more even and uniform mix throughout the entire load.
When it comes to Bay-Lynx’s technical support, the team at Bromfield S&G is very pleased with their service,
“Technicians (at Bay-Lynx) are very helpful, nine times out of ten they can talk you through fixing on site”
Wayne expanded on his point and said that the times when problems can’t be fixed on site, Bay-Lynx will come out as soon as they can, typically the same or next day.
Bromfield S&G hope to expand in the future. People are constantly looking for ways to reduce their waste and carbon footprint and volumetric trucks seem to be the answer. Volumetric mixers allow companies to service two or three customers on a single load because of their ability to change concrete mixes on demand. Wayne told us about Bromfield’s hope of expansion and said,
“We’ve only scathed the surface on the (volumetric concrete supply) market.”
Bay-Lynx is proud to provide Bromfield with high quality products and looks forward to doing more business with them in the future.
Construction sites and mining companies have a lot in common. Builders and mine operators know that when they need concrete – a lot has to go right. If a worksite runs into an unexpected event, big or small, that event can delay and even cancel the concrete altogether.
But what if there was a better approach? What if, instead of delivering concrete that had such a narrow pour window, you could simply deliver everything to site, and do it on demand?
Enter RufDiamond – a Coniston, Ontario based company that has manufactured a one-of-kind vehicle, the Agilis Mining and Tunneling Unit.
“We call it a mobile shotcrete/concrete batch plant,” said Daryl Adams, Co-Owner and Head of Sales. “There’s two ways of basically having shotcrete or concrete in a mine. One is, you can have a ready-mix truck show up from a batch plant, and it may be half an hour or 45-minute old material. And we all know concrete, it’s about set time, as soon as you add water, it’s starting to set.”
“Then it’s transferred into a trans-mixer and transported to its final worksite” he added.
“Many times, mining company’s loads are lost due to non-conformance, because the material is either too wet or too dry.”
“And the other one is dry shotcrete. Dry is where they bring it down in totes, they put it through a pump, as dry material (it’s all dehydrated) and then add water at the nozzle. Dry shotcrete results in a greater amount of rebound and more dust particulate than the wet process.
Adams says RufDiamond’s system changes the game in underground shotcrete/concrete. Pre-Blended totes from King (Sika) Shotcrete are loaded into our watertight hopper. At no time does water enter the dry hopper. When the process starts, material is conveyed into our patented mixing auger where a precise amount of water is then added per the mix design. The result is lab quality fresh shotcrete/concrete consistently, every time.
The Agilis has been three years in the making. RufDiamond partnered with Bay-Lynx, which manufactures volumetric mixers. “We’ve made this unit mine-compliant. Our machine is completely enclosed, and there’s no water that can access the dry hopper, no penetration, because if you had a full open top, in mining, it would absorb the water, the moisture, and humidity, and the material would start hardening.”
“We can replace trans-mixers with the Agilis and never have to worry about lost loads due to non conformity or unforeseen circumstances (mechanical breakdowns etc.)” said Adams.
The Agilis solves a number of problems and it’s a global exclusive to RufDiamond. “Nobody’s doing this in the world. We just finished the first one in March. And that’s our surface unit. We had a request for a large mining company in February, which made some requests for a static batch plant, so we’re in discussions with them, providing them a solution.”
Every time the Agilis mixes material all data related to the mix design is recorded and available for printout should a project manager require information such as time, date, work location, product used, water ratio and strength.
The Agilis carries 6 cubic metres of dry pre blended King (Sika) material, 1900 litres of water (that can be heated) and provides 30 cubic metres of shotcrete per hour.
Our system provides precise mixes, reliable mixes, extremely low dust mixes and high production capability due to our units being able to mix on demand whether a client requires 1 metre or 1000 metres of shotcrete/concrete.
RufDiamond has three options available to mix shotcrete/concrete on site.
1. The wheeled mine carrier unit capable of filling shotcrete sprayers in location or pouring concrete where needed as needed.
2. The stationary (with easy portability) mine unit capable of filling trans-mixers as required.
3. The tracked surface unit capable of travelling to areas inaccessible (extreme off-road conditions) to ready-mix trucks.
In addition to the Agilis, RufDiamond is the exclusive distributor of the Fat Truck in Ontario and Nunavut. The all-terrain exploration utility vehicle is unlike other amphibious competitors. It’s built in Canada and has a hydrostatic drive.
There are three main challenges for companies in the exploration business when it comes to reliable utility vehicles: unreliable equipment like pickup trucks, old buses and recreational ATV’s are often used; equipment often gets stuck or breaks down in wet, frozen or rough terrain; and lastly, workers are often being transported to remote areas and managers have to resort to expensive solutions such as helicopters.
The Fat Truck provides an innovative cost-effective, and reliable off-road vehicle. “It’s a robust utility vehicle that can operate for extended periods of time,” explains Adams. “It can safely transport multiple people along with sensitive equipment and instruments on land and through water or any inhospitable terrain.”
RufDiamond says the Fat Truck is perfect for inspections, transmission line work, emergency repairs, tailing pond inspections and environmental units.
Some companies that already use the Fat Truck include Kirkland Lake Gold, Agnico Eagle, BC Hydro, and Hydro-Quebec, HydroOne and others.
The Fat Trucks include heaters, air conditioning, automatic safety brakes, seats with 3-point safety belts, cameras, a bilge pump, ROPS and telematics.
For this article and more read Northern Ontario’s exclusive mining magazine. The summer issue is packed with 100 pages of articles on today’s mining industry happenings. Enjoy.
Construction sites and mining companies have a lot in common. Builders and mine operators know that when they need concrete – a lot has to go right. If a worksite runs into an unexpected event, big or small, that event can delay and even cancel the concrete altogether.
But what if there was a better approach? What if, instead of delivering concrete that had such a narrow pour window, you could simply deliver everything to site, and do it on demand?
Enter RufDiamond – a Coniston, Ontario based company that has manufactured a one-of-kind vehicle, the Agilis Mining and Tunneling Unit.
“We call it a mobile shotcrete/concrete batch plant,” said Daryl Adams, Co-Owner and Head of Sales. “There’s two ways of basically having shotcrete or concrete in a mine. One is, you can have a ready-mix truck show up from a batch plant, and it may be half an hour or 45-minute old material. And we all know concrete, it’s about set time, as soon as you add water, it’s starting to set.”
“Then it’s transferred into a trans-mixer and transported to its final worksite” he added.
“Many times, mining company’s loads are lost due to non-conformance, because the material is either too wet or too dry.”
“And the other one is dry shotcrete. Dry is where they bring it down in totes, they put it through a pump, as dry material (it’s all dehydrated) and then add water at the nozzle. Dry shotcrete results in a greater amount of rebound and more dust particulate than the wet process.
Adams says RufDiamond’s system changes the game in underground shotcrete/concrete. Pre-Blended totes from King (Sika) Shotcrete are loaded into our watertight hopper. At no time does water enter the dry hopper. When the process starts, material is conveyed into our patented mixing auger where a precise amount of water is then added per the mix design. The result is lab quality fresh shotcrete/concrete consistently, every time.
The Agilis has been three years in the making. RufDiamond partnered with Bay-Lynx, which manufactures volumetric mixers. “We’ve made this unit mine-compliant. Our machine is completely enclosed, and there’s no water that can access the dry hopper, no penetration, because if you had a full open top, in mining, it would absorb the water, the moisture, and humidity, and the material would start hardening.”
“We can replace trans-mixers with the Agilis and never have to worry about lost loads due to non conformity or unforeseen circumstances (mechanical breakdowns etc.)” said Adams.
The Agilis solves a number of problems and it’s a global exclusive to RufDiamond. “Nobody’s doing this in the world. We just finished the first one in March. And that’s our surface unit. We had a request for a large mining company in February, which made some requests for a static batch plant, so we’re in discussions with them, providing them a solution.”
Every time the Agilis mixes material all data related to the mix design is recorded and available for printout should a project manager require information such as time, date, work location, product used, water ratio and strength.
The Agilis carries 6 cubic metres of dry pre blended King (Sika) material, 1900 litres of water (that can be heated) and provides 30 cubic metres of shotcrete per hour.
Our system provides precise mixes, reliable mixes, extremely low dust mixes and high production capability due to our units being able to mix on demand whether a client requires 1 metre or 1000 metres of shotcrete/concrete.
RufDiamond has three options available to mix shotcrete/concrete on site.
1. The wheeled mine carrier unit capable of filling shotcrete sprayers in location or pouring concrete where needed as needed.
2. The stationary (with easy portability) mine unit capable of filling trans-mixers as required.
3. The tracked surface unit capable of travelling to areas inaccessible (extreme off-road conditions) to ready-mix trucks.
In addition to the Agilis, RufDiamond is the exclusive distributor of the Fat Truck in Ontario and Nunavut. The all-terrain exploration utility vehicle is unlike other amphibious competitors. It’s built in Canada and has a hydrostatic drive.
There are three main challenges for companies in the exploration business when it comes to reliable utility vehicles: unreliable equipment like pickup trucks, old buses and recreational ATV’s are often used; equipment often gets stuck or breaks down in wet, frozen or rough terrain; and lastly, workers are often being transported to remote areas and managers have to resort to expensive solutions such as helicopters.
The Fat Truck provides an innovative cost-effective, and reliable off-road vehicle. “It’s a robust utility vehicle that can operate for extended periods of time,” explains Adams. “It can safely transport multiple people along with sensitive equipment and instruments on land and through water or any inhospitable terrain.”
RufDiamond says the Fat Truck is perfect for inspections, transmission line work, emergency repairs, tailing pond inspections and environmental units.
Some companies that already use the Fat Truck include Kirkland Lake Gold, Agnico Eagle, BC Hydro, and Hydro-Quebec, HydroOne and others.
The Fat Trucks include heaters, air conditioning, automatic safety brakes, seats with 3-point safety belts, cameras, a bilge pump, ROPS and telematics.
For this article and more read Northern Ontario’s exclusive mining magazine. The summer issue is packed with 100 pages of articles on today’s mining industry happenings. Enjoy.
Caleb Austel and the team at Modified Concrete in Indianapolis, have been the leaders and one of the largest bridge concrete suppliers of latex modified concrete and rapid setting latex concrete. However, with this offering of very specific concrete, a standard volumetric mixer wouldn’t do the trick. Hence, when it came time to start replacing their fleet of volumetric mixers, their leadership team took a hard look in the market at different suppliers.
As they discussed their needs with various suppliers it was clear to them that the Bay-Lynx mixer was their answer, as a standard off the shelf volumetric mixer would not do for their needs. As Caleb Austel of Modified Concrete describes it,
“After he got me out to the Bay-Lynx shop and I met the team, there was no doubt Bay-Lynx was the correct fit.”
The Bay-Lynx team quickly responded to Modified and went through the details of the machine and provided Modified with a mixer that was user friendly to their operators. Specialty items such as the location of the pneumatic fill pipe and latex tank specifications were all part of the design and fit Modified Concrete’s needs.
While changing out to a different supplier is always a concern Modified also discovered that his operators would enjoy the change. Caleb states,
“Modified operators were worried about switching to a new manufacture of mobiles because they knew the other units. However, once they used the Bay-Lynx units my guys loved them.”
Lastly, Caleb was worried if the parts and service support would suffer due to the border separation. He was concerned if parts could be ordered and would arrive quick enough. He was pleasantly surprised that this has never been an issue and said,
“After 3 years of ordering parts from Bay-Lynx, this is not a concern at all.”
Since the first custom built machine, Modified Concrete has continued to grow in their leadership role in bridge deck concrete including both chassis and trailer mounted set-ups. The Bay-Lynx team thanks all the members of Team Modified for their business, and is proud to be part of their continued success.
Caleb Austel and the team at Modified Concrete in Indianapolis, have been the leaders and one of the largest bridge concrete suppliers of latex modified concrete and rapid setting latex concrete. However, with this offering of very specific concrete, a standard volumetric mixer wouldn’t do the trick. Hence, when it came time to start replacing their fleet of volumetric mixers, their leadership team took a hard look in the market at different suppliers.
As they discussed their needs with various suppliers it was clear to them that the Bay-Lynx mixer was their answer, as a standard off the shelf volumetric mixer would not do for their needs. As Caleb Austel of Modified Concrete describes it,
“After he got me out to the Bay-Lynx shop and I met the team, there was no doubt Bay-Lynx was the correct fit.”
The Bay-Lynx team quickly responded to Modified and went through the details of the machine and provided Modified with a mixer that was user friendly to their operators. Specialty items such as the location of the pneumatic fill pipe and latex tank specifications were all part of the design and fit Modified Concrete’s needs.
While changing out to a different supplier is always a concern Modified also discovered that his operators would enjoy the change. Caleb states,
“Modified operators were worried about switching to a new manufacture of mobiles because they knew the other units. However, once they used the Bay-Lynx units my guys loved them.”
Lastly, Caleb was worried if the parts and service support would suffer due to the border separation. He was concerned if parts could be ordered and would arrive quick enough. He was pleasantly surprised that this has never been an issue and said,
“After 3 years of ordering parts from Bay-Lynx, this is not a concern at all.”
Since the first custom built machine, Modified Concrete has continued to grow in their leadership role in bridge deck concrete including both chassis and trailer mounted set-ups. The Bay-Lynx team thanks all the members of Team Modified for their business, and is proud to be part of their continued success.
On March 1st, Bay-Lynx, in partnership with RufDiamond and Powertraxx, announced the release of the all new Agilis Mobile Batch Plant.
This mixer has been a project in the background for over a year after RufDiamond noticed a strong need for quality concrete in remote areas.
The Agilis is a mobile batch plant designed to bring concrete to off-road, hard-to-reach and remote areas. It differs from a volumetric mixer for a few reasons:
Remote pours have a serious problem when it comes to delivering concrete. These are the current problems facing the industry:
When the pour location is hundreds of miles away from a batch-plant, concrete cannot be delivered by ready mix trucks. Concrete has a shelf time and if the concrete takes even 90 minutes to deliver, it does not meet spec and may need to be completely discarded.
Some of these remote area pours are not accessible from a roadway. This means air transport may be required to deliver concrete. But costs of delivering concrete with a helicopter is extremely expensive and inefficient. Other options may include drum mixers on tracked units, but this is still not a good solution when it comes to delivering fresh material as the concrete is already mixed and therefore the load is very time sensitive.
If a load needs to be offloaded from a mixer due to the mix not meeting the spec or equipment failure, environmental damage and fees are extremely costly. Thousands of dollars will need to be spent to pay the fines. There have been cases of over $40,000 for a single fine.
The Agilis is loaded with preblended totes from King. These preblend totes carry all the material required to make the concrete. Water is stored in the 500-gallon tank on the mixer. Any additional material required can be delivered on site where the Agilis can reload. Mounted on the Powertraxx PT15, the Agilis will travel to the remote areas. Then when it is time to pour, the material is offloaded on the main conveyor belt where it is met with water at the mixing bowl. It is then mixed in the 12” diameter auger for immediate freshly-produced concrete.
Partnering with Ruf Diamond and Powertraxx, the Agilis will begin including a crane on the front of the carrier to independently load the totes on the unit. The Agilis has already made its debut in northern Ontario, where it is expected to highly impact government and private projects.
See more on the Agilis product page.
On March 1st, Bay-Lynx, in partnership with RufDiamond and Powertraxx, announced the release of the all new Agilis Mobile Batch Plant.
This mixer has been a project in the background for over a year after RufDiamond noticed a strong need for quality concrete in remote areas.
The Agilis is a mobile batch plant designed to bring concrete to off-road, hard-to-reach and remote areas. It differs from a volumetric mixer for a few reasons:
Remote pours have a serious problem when it comes to delivering concrete. These are the current problems facing the industry:
When the pour location is hundreds of miles away from a batch-plant, concrete cannot be delivered by ready mix trucks. Concrete has a shelf time and if the concrete takes even 90 minutes to deliver, it does not meet spec and may need to be completely discarded.
Some of these remote area pours are not accessible from a roadway. This means air transport may be required to deliver concrete. But costs of delivering concrete with a helicopter is extremely expensive and inefficient. Other options may include drum mixers on tracked units, but this is still not a good solution when it comes to delivering fresh material as the concrete is already mixed and therefore the load is very time sensitive.
If a load needs to be offloaded from a mixer due to the mix not meeting the spec or equipment failure, environmental damage and fees are extremely costly. Thousands of dollars will need to be spent to pay the fines. There have been cases of over $40,000 for a single fine.
The Agilis is loaded with preblended totes from King. These preblend totes carry all the material required to make the concrete. Water is stored in the 500-gallon tank on the mixer. Any additional material required can be delivered on site where the Agilis can reload. Mounted on the Powertraxx PT15, the Agilis will travel to the remote areas. Then when it is time to pour, the material is offloaded on the main conveyor belt where it is met with water at the mixing bowl. It is then mixed in the 12” diameter auger for immediate freshly-produced concrete.
Partnering with Ruf Diamond and Powertraxx, the Agilis will begin including a crane on the front of the carrier to independently load the totes on the unit. The Agilis has already made its debut in northern Ontario, where it is expected to highly impact government and private projects.
See more on the Agilis product page.