Construction materials are the basis for creating infrastructure and are therefore always in demand worldwide. To manufacture construction materials with a consistently high quality, the use of fully automatic machines and plants is indispensable. Based on the latest technology, such as the SIMATIC S7 industrial controllers, the SIMOTION Motion Control System and the SINAMICS S120 drives, Siemens provides innovative solutions for technologies that produce construction material end products made of ceramics and stone.

The ceramics and stone segments are divided into the following subsegments:

• Coarse ceramics (bricks for walls, tiles for roofs)
• Fine ceramics (tiles, bath/kitchen ceramics, technical ceramics)
• Block casting (pre-cast concrete blocks, sand-lime bricks)
• Natural stone finishing

Solutions for the ceramics and stone segments

For the coarse ceramics and fine ceramics subsegments and for block casting, the molding is in the foreground. Whereas molded blocks (pre-cast concrete blocks, sand-lime bricks) are only dried after the molding process, ceramic materials are dried and baked in a kiln after the molding. In stone finishing, the focus is on the natural stone. Various processing steps take place during this, starting with a stone block taken directly from the quarry to the finished natural stone end product.

From the individual machine to the complete plant

Siemens equips individual machines and complete plants with automation and drive technology. In extensive facilities, such as a brickworks (coarse ceramics), the advantages of the SIMATIC family of controllers are utilized. For natural stone finishing centers, the Siemens CNC systems of the SINUMERIK family provide advantages. Whenever the timing of several axes must be coordinated with high precision, the advantages of the SIMOTION Motion Control System come to the fore.

Examples of typical SIMOTION applications are:

• Brick placing system
• Concrete block molding machine
• Sand-lime brick press
• Grinding and polishing machines for natural stone slabs

Servo pump as energy-saving hydraulic drive

Hydraulic drives are primarily used for the molding processes. Siemens provides the servo pump as an innovative, energy-saving solution concept for this. The principle behind this is not primarily to control the pressure and volumetric flow by means of valve technology, but directly via the torque and speed of a servomotor. As a result, energy is only provided by the motor when it is actually required at the cylinder. Especially for clocked manufacturing processes, which are commonly applied, for example, in fine ceramic presses, sand-lime brick presses and concrete block molding machines, this principle leads to considerable energy savings.