Hydraulic Press for CSEB
Semi and Fully Automatic Auram Presses
Context and need:
The Auram 3000 manually operated CSEB block press was jointly developed by AVEI and Aureka, a design, engineering, and metal-fabrication company also operating within Auroville. Since the 1980s, the Auram 3000 has been in use world-wide, and is considered by many the best manual CSEB press, due to its robustness, ease of use, and because of its unique ability to produce seventy different types of blocks, using eighteen molds and a variety of inserts.
Recognizing that labor can be one of the highest cost components of CSEB manufacture, and also that there is a need for a higher CSEB production rate for large construction projects than is practicable by manual machinery, AVEI has again teamed up with Aureka to design semi-automated and fully automated CSEB presses.
Design Constraints:
Presently, the Auram 4000 semi-automatic electrically powered hydraulic press is in the field-trials stage, undergoing continuous improvement. A fully automatic version is also being developed, with a second prototype undergoing field-trials. We expect that these machines will be ready for market within the next few months (June 2018).
Also Available:
In addition to semi-automated and fully-automated CSEB presses, a motorized soil crusher and continuous-flow mixer are also being developed, as it would be impossible for workers to keep pace with these presses if they had to hand-sieve and manually prepare the proper mix-ratio of [soil:sand:cement], moistening it with just the correct amount of water. Note: batch mixers, currently available for cement concrete, are problematic, in that the mix at the end of the batch can dry out before use.
The Auram Crusher has been developed; field trials have been completed, and it is available for sale.
The Auramix 5000 &endash; currently in pilot-production and field-trials stage &endash; is a continuous mixer, delivering a constant flow of material to the CSEB press, at just the right moisture content. Final adjustments are being made to fine-tune the water proportioning system, but it is expected that units will be on the market within a few months (circa June 2018).
Note: presently there are not as many molds available for the semi-automatic and fully-automatic presses as for the Auram 3000. The need for special blocks that can be produced by the Auram 3000 is typically much smaller than for standard blocks, and thus automation is not suited for these small production runs. For the greatest versatility, we recommend that a complete CSEB production facility have both types.
Auram press 4000 (semi-automatic) with the Auramix 5000
Prototype of the Auram press 6000 (fully automatic)
