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50 years of Brickmaking:Technology developments

through five decades.

Dr Garth TaylerAcme Brick Company

Plant Operators ForumOctober 3rd, 2017

JOHANNESBURG

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Johannesburg's Zulu name is "Egoli" City of Gold, where the gold-bearing ore is mined at

considerable depth.

BUSHVELD DAWN

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The Bushveld, where the Lion live!

While some South African brick makers still use the ancient craft

of clamp kiln operation…

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KRUGERSDORP BRICKWORKS

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… others use state-of-the-art process and kiln technology,

supported by world class R&D and scientific testing

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COROBRIK: TVA HACK SETTING

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COROBRIK: ROBOTIC SETTING:

NOVA BRICKSHACK SETTING

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COROBRIK’S STATE-OF-THE-ART MIDRAND LAB

5 Decades of Brick Making

• 1966 to 1976 – Brickor, South Africa• 1976 to 1986 – Corobrik, South Africa• 1986 to 1996 – Cullinan Brick, South Africa• 1996 to 2006 – Acme Brick, USA• 2006 to 2016 – Acme Brick, USA

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Decade1: 1966 to 1976Coal fired Kilns

• Staffordshire University – Stoke on Trent• Belden Brick – Plant 6 & 8 (1969)• Brick Corporation of South Africa:1. Zandfontein Plant 2. Crown Mines Plant 3. Driefontein Plant

Garth Tayler

Wally Chrystal Bill Geier

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1966 to 1976BRICKOR

1. Zandfontein Plant – 40m brick-tile/year• Clearfield dry pans / FMC Linkbelt screens• FRH Extruders / J C Steele FG reel cutters• String dryers• Beehive and Rectangular DD kilns… to• Mechanical stoker firing

• Hand setting and unloading...to• Fork lift hack setting and unloading

• Sorting/Loose delivery

COAL FIRED RECTANGULAR DOWN-DRAFT KILNS

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OVER-FEED COAL STOKER

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1966 to 1976BRICKOR

2. Crown Mines Plant – 140m Plaster brick/yr• B&C Rim discharge pans• Heated Morgenson Sizer screens• JC Steele 90 Extruder• Manual setting• 6 Lingl, 12 wide tunnel dryers• Twin Lingl 12 wide tunnel kilns• Sasol gas ignition of body fuel• Fork lift hack unloading

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1966 to 1976BRICKOR

3. Driefontein Plant – 76m Premium FB/year• Incla Mark III pans• Heated screens• JC Steele 90/manual setting• Swindell Dressler Tunnel Dryers• Coal Producer Gas fired SD 18 wide TK• Manual unloading – FBX/FBS Face brick.

Wellman-Galusha Coal Gasifiers

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Producer gas fired SD tunnel kilnDriefontein Plant: 1976

DECADE 2: 1976 to 1986COROBRIK – CENTRAL AREA

Modernization• Dry pan-screen prep/stiff extrusion plants• Mechanical stoker fired Beehive kilns• Stoker fired Rectangular Down draft kilns• Transverse Arch (TVA) Chamber kilns• Zigzag /Hoffman kiln• Dunn chamber kiln• Coal fines - body fuel firing• Forklift hack setting - unloading• Loose delivery - strap-pack delivery

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HOFFMAN KILN

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TRANSVERSE ARCH MULTI-CHAMBER KILN

Decade 3: 1986 to 1996CULLINAN BRICK

Innovation6 Clamp Kiln face brick plants – 270 MMBE/year.• Precision layered clay blend stockpiling• Continuous chemical analyses• Precision clamp kiln building• Gas/Electric Probe ignition of clamp kilns• SABS Quality Mark (SABC 0157)• SOP QA/QC procedures

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PRECISION-BUILT LAYERED STOCKPILE

PRECISE, UNIFORM CLAMP KILN SETTING

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CULLINAN BRICK Clamp Kiln - 13m brick240 ft. wide, 900 ft. long, 15 ft. high

Week 1

WEEK 4 OF “AUTOGENOUS COMBUSTION”

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WEEK 6

WEEK 10

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WEEK 12

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LP GAS IGNITION

BELT UNLOADING AND SELECTION

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BRANDED PRODUCTS OF THE “TOWNHOUSE” RANGE

THRU-THE WALL BRICK MASONRY, LOW COST HOUSING

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“SINGLE LEAF” BRICK MASONRY

CULLINAN “TOWNHOUSE” FACE BRICK

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CULLINAN BRICK Continued

New Midrand Tunnel Kiln – 100m/yr (1990)• Continuous chemical analyses• Precision layered clay blend stockpiling• Dry prep/Heated Morgenson Sizer screening• Clay storage/ Verdes Monoblock extruder• 515ft Fully automated Ceric Casing Kiln• Premium Architectural Product Range• SABS Quality Mark (SABS 0157)

NEW MIDRAND PLANT (1990)

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PRECISION LAYERED STOCKPILING BLEND

NEW MIDRAND PLANT (1990)

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NEW MIDRAND PLANT (1990)

NEW MIDRAND PLANT (1990)

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NEW MIDRAND PLANT (1990)

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SOUTH AFRICAN RESERVE BANK BUILDING

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First democratic election was held in South Africa on the 27th April, 1994.

THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA!

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2 DECADES IN THE USA

Decade 4: 1996 to 2006ACME BRICK

Adapting and building • New Bennet tunnel kiln plant (1996)• New Elgin Soft-mud Lingl Tunnel kiln plant (2000)• Exploration, Research developments (methods)• Strategic Raw Material Planning (modeling)• P Cubed Quality Management (Intranet based)• Silica Action Planning (Engineering solutions)• Energy Management (Engineering solutions)• Microwave Hybrid Firing Research

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BENNET PLANT (1996)

BENNET PLANT (1996)

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BENNET DLS by SOLAIR

BENNET PLANT (2002)

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BENNET PLANT (2002)

PLC control panel

75kW - 915MHz Ferrite MW unit

7.8m³SS cavity

700kg brick load

Water cooling system

Choked Exhaust stack

Research on Microwave Ignition - Autogenous Combustion

Wave guide

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ELGIN DEBOER HUBERT SOFT MUD PLANT 2000

ELGIN “COLONIAL HAND MADE” SOFT-MUD

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Decade 5: 2006 to 2016ACME BRICK

Consolidation, more with less• Conversion Elgin Plant to Extrusion• New Prep Plant at Garrison Plant• Mechanization (Robotic setting/dehacking)• New Denton tunnel kiln • Body development projects • Low Profile Fast Firing research• Research on new products and new

markets

ELGIN CONVERSION TO STIFF EXTRUSION

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CONVERSION OF ELGIN TO EXTRUSION 2006

ACME DENTON SETTER 2011

!"#$#!%

&'

!"#$%#&'&()*#

!"#$%#&'&()*#

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THE FUTURE OF THE BRICK INDUSTRY IS NOW!

There will always be a demand for clay face brick.

More consumer awareness is needed!

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PRODUCT INNOVATIONS THIS DECADE

• Thin Brick• Rainscreen Cladding• Ceramic siding• Floor Brick• Clay roof tile• Panelized building systems

Future manufacturing?Low Profile Faster Firing Technology• Efficient simple automation• Low manpower• Extremely low energy consumption• Smaller footprint• Flexible production scheduling• Zero defect production• Superior quality• Well suited for Thin Brick and other cladding

products

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SWINDELL LOW PROFILE KILN

HARROP BAR KILN

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HARROP BAR KILN

DIREXA LOW PROFILE FAST FIRING SKATE KILN

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DIREXA LOW PROFILE FAST FIRING SKATE KILN

LOW PROFILE LOAD ON SiSiC BEAM/CARRIAGE ASSEMBLY

TYPICAL DIREXA LOW PROFILE FAST FIRING PLANT

EFFICIENT, VERSATILE, COST EFFECTIVE, CAN BE ADAPTED TO MICROWAVE-HYBRID FIRING, FOR ‘GREEN”

PRODUCTION OF THE FUTURE

Skate kiln

Dry setUnloading

Dry brick from Chinook dryer

SiSiC carriage assemblies

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THANK YOU!