Packaging Line

Last in the series.

The final Stage prior to the customer getting the bricks, the de-hacking machine. as you can see very few people again, but what you can't see are three guys, sorting rejected bricks from the best one as they go past, so not all robotic.

This shot is of the two packaging robots, loading into a cassette with rows of 13x4 bricks a time until the pack is made (400 in total). The robots also pick up the paper layer in between the bricks and they also make the holes so Forks Lift trucks can pick up the packs.

From here they goes to a strapping machine and an automatic bagging machine which puts a plastic cover on the pack, then out through a hole in the wall past an ink jet printer which prints a code on each pack for QA audits, then on to the stock yard.

Our plant is a 40 Million bricks per year, it runs for 51 weeks a year 7 days a week, the producton is on a 10.25 hour a day and the kiln never stops.
We have 43 people including myself to run and maintain the plant, and the kiln is gas fired, the dryers use recyled heat from the brick cooling.

I will try and up load a full set of pictures on our server at home so anyone can view the process from start to finish.

Off on holiday today so it will be back to boring holiday shots all next week providing I can find a terminal to down load to.