A Study on the Compatibility of Fully Automated Brick Receiving Lines with Brick Machines: An In-Depth Analysis from Technological Collaboration to Production Efficiency

A Study on the Compatibility of Fully Automated Brick Receiving Lines with Brick Machines: An In-Depth Analysis from Technological Collaboration to Production Efficiency

Under the wave of solid waste resource utilization, brick production lines centered on concrete brick machines are accelerating their transformation towards automation and intelligence. As a key supporting equipment at the end of the production line, the compatibility of fully automated brick-laying and baling machines directly determines the continuity, efficiency, and cost control of the production process. From recycled bricks from construction waste to fly ash-fired bricks, the production characteristics of different types of brick machines vary significantly. How to achieve precise compatibility between fully automated brick-laying and baling machines and brick machines has become a core issue for many brick product enterprises to break through capacity bottlenecks and enhance market competitiveness.

I. Core Elements of Compatibility: Technological Collaboration and Production Logic Matching

The compatibility of fully automated brick receiving lines with brick machines needs to be comprehensively considered from three dimensions: equipment parameter collaboration, process flow connection, and product characteristic compatibility. Taking Quanzhou Liushi Machinery's RGV mother-daughter brick receiving line as an example, its initial design aimed to solve the handling bottleneck in palletized brick machine production: it achieves unmanned transfer of wet/dry bricks through an intelligent track system, and with coding positioning technology, the handling error is controlled within ±1mm, perfectly matching the 15-20 second/cycle molding cycle of hydraulic brick machines. This adaptability enabled a Jiangsu brick factory to increase its single-line daily production capacity from 120,000 bricks to 180,000 bricks, while reducing labor costs by 62%.

In contrast, pallet-free brick machines achieve direct demolding of bricks through a vibrating support plate and auxiliary pressure head design, eliminating the need for a pallet circulation system. While this type of equipment has achieved mechanized production, forcibly integrating an RGV brick receiving line can actually prolong the investment payback period due to equipment redundancy. A brick factory in Fujian attempted to use an RGV system for a pallet-free brick machine production line, but ultimately terminated the project due to equipment utilization of less than 40%, demonstrating that technology adaptation must adhere to the principle of "necessary and sufficient."

II. Key Dimensions of Adaptation: Precise Matching for Efficient Collaboration
Adapting a fully automatic brick-making and packaging machine to a brick-making machine is not a simple matter of equipment splicing. It requires precise matching across multiple dimensions, including brick-making machine characteristics, brick parameters, and production needs. The core adaptation dimensions mainly include the following:

1. Capacity and Speed ​​Adaptation: Building a Solid Foundation for Collaboration
Capacity adaptation is a prerequisite for collaborative operation. Different models of brick-making machines have significantly different output speeds, ranging from hundreds to thousands of bricks per hour. The processing speed of the fully automatic brick-making and packaging machine must be precisely matched with the brick-making machine's capacity—neither insufficient packaging speed leading to brick accumulation nor excessive packaging speed causing equipment idleness and waste. When selecting a machine, companies must first clarify the rated capacity and actual production efficiency of the brick-making machine (considering factors such as equipment wear and tear and raw material replacement), and then choose a packaging machine with the corresponding processing capacity. For example, a hydraulic brick machine with a capacity of 1500 bricks per hour should be paired with a fully automatic brick-threading and packaging machine with a processing speed of no less than 1500 bricks per hour, while reserving a 10%-20% capacity redundancy to cope with the needs of full-load production or short-term capacity fluctuations.

2. Brick Specifications and Shape Adaptation: Ensuring Packaging Accuracy
The specifications and shapes of brick products directly determine the clamp design, stacking method, and brick-threading strategy of the packaging machine, which is the core challenge of adaptation. Currently, there are various types of brick products on the market, including standard bricks (240mm×115mm×53mm), hollow bricks, permeable bricks, and irregularly shaped bricks. Different bricks have significant differences in size, weight, strength, and pore distribution. For example, because hollow bricks have pores, the clamps must avoid squeezing and damaging the weak parts of the brick; permeable bricks often have rough textures on the surface, and anti-slip stability must be ensured during stacking. (III) Production Line Layout and Connection Adaptation: Optimizing Space Utilization The layout and connection between the fully automatic brick-making and packaging machine and the brick-making machine directly affect the smoothness of the production process and the utilization rate of the site. The suitable layout needs to be comprehensively planned based on factors such as the size of the workshop space, the output direction of the brick-making machine, and subsequent transportation routes. Common connection methods include straight-line connection and corner connection. Straight-line connection is suitable for scenarios with ample workshop space. After the brick-making machine outputs material, the bricks are directly transported to the packaging machine via a conveyor belt, resulting in a simple process and high transmission efficiency. Corner connection is suitable for scenarios with limited workshop space. By adjusting the brick transmission direction through a corner conveyor, a staggered layout of the brick-making machine and the packaging machine can be achieved, saving space.

 III. Technological Evolution Trends: From Single Adaptation to System Integration Currently, the industry is showing two major directions of technological integration:

1. Application of Digital Twin Technology Quanzhou Yonggong Machinery's latest digital twin brick-collecting system, by simulating the flow of brick blanks and equipment collaboration in virtual space, shortens the entire line debugging cycle from 7 days to 48 hours. This system can collect over 200 parameters in real time, including brick machine vibration frequency and brick collection line hydraulic pressure, constructing a digital profile of the production process and providing data support for process optimization.

2. Modular Design Breakthrough Huding Machinery's rapidly adaptable module allows the same brick collection line to be adapted from standard bricks to grass-planting bricks within 2 hours. Its core lies in the use of detachable feeding teeth and magnetic positioning fixtures, combined with one-click parameter switching on the HMI interface, meeting the needs of small-batch, multi-variety production. After applying this technology, a brick factory in Sichuan expanded its product range from 3 to 12 types, and its order response speed increased by 60%.

Conclusion: Adaptability Determines the Success or Failure of Transformation

The adaptability of fully automatic brick collection lines to brick machines is essentially a restructuring of production logic and optimization of value stream. From Quanzhou Liushi's intelligent track handling to Huagong's flexible palletizing technology, from Hengxing's non-destructive handling innovation to Yonggong's digital twin application, the industry is solving the adaptation problem through technological integration. Brick manufacturing enterprises need to base themselves on their own product portfolio, production capacity and cost structure, and choose "tailor-made" automation solutions in order to achieve a win-win situation of efficiency and effectiveness in the process of intelligent transformation.