Construction Equipment - About The Different Types Of Concrete Mixers

There are many different types of concrete mixers available on the market each with their own specific features and benefits to suit construction site requirements and challenges. Many heavy concrete machinery businesses sell construction equipment in new as well as in used condition. There are also those that offer equipment for short to long-term hire, which is a great financial advantage to project managers having to work to a tight budget.

Types of concrete mixers include:
Self-loading rough terrain concrete mixers,
Self-loading truck concrete mixers,
Transit concrete mixers,
Volumetric concrete mixers,
Mobile volumetric batching plants,
Hand fed site concrete mixers

A Transit Concrete Mixer is a mechanical device that homogeneously combines cement, sand, gravel and water to from fine-grained concrete for delivery to jobs where large pour volumes are required. Industrial applications include construction of dams, bridges, canals, high-rise apartments, industrial buildings, distant highways, factories and many such infrastructure development projects. Available in various customized designs and sizes ranging from 2 cubic meters to 8 cubic meter wet concrete output, making them the ideal choice for ready-mix concrete operations. There is also the option of the articulated transit mixers with an output capacity of up to 14 cubic meters. Transit mixers are highly efficient and provide optimum output with low maintenance.

Rough Terrain Concrete Mixers are 4x4 wheel drive self-loading cement mixers fitted with a front operators cab. They can climb, fully loaded with cement, over the most precarious terrains; they can load, mix, produce and discharge over 100m3 of cement per day; they have electronic weighbatching equipment, which ensures precise mixes of any grade of concrete and fitted with a slewing drum, allowing concrete to be discharged from every side of the vehicle at heights of over 2m. This type of concrete mixer is suited to all types of job-sites from congested city centres to remote villages - can be manoeuvred around tight corners or down narrow lanes, so ideal for remote construction sites as well as those in busy urban areas.

A Volumetric Concrete Mixer offers substantial advantages over traditional methods of concrete delivery. A volumetric mixer is basically a mobile truck mixer and batching plant rolled into one. All raw materials are stored in separate compartments and these are then metered and mixed into fresh cement where and when its needed. This means that there is no expensive waste of materials, as the unmixed product remains usable indefinitely. The Volumetric Concrete Mixer also eliminates the need for part load charges and problems with over or under-ordering. Customers can estimate the amount of concrete needed and the exact quantity can be mixed on site, and they only pay for what they use. Volumetric Mixers can supply all mixes and grades of cement, including screed and mortar. Mixes and grades can be switched from one customer to the next or even halfway through a job if necessary.

As with conventional Volumetric Concrete Mixers, the Mobile Volumetric Concrete Batching Plant has 2 separate compartments for aggregates, a cement hopper, a water tank and additive tanks. Due its construction design, this mobile system allows transporting of all the elements needed for making concrete. In this way, the operator can produce exactly what he wants, where he wants and in the quantity he wants through the use of an on-board computer. Once production is started, the various components enter the mixer in the required doses and the finished mixed product comes out continuously, ready for final use. It is also suitable for the recovery of materials destined for landfill disposal, such as cement mixtures regenerated from masonry rubble or milled materials cold-regenerated with emulsions.

For smaller volume projects, portable or hand-fed concrete mixers are often used so that the concrete can be made at the construction site, giving the workers ample time to use the concrete before it hardens.