Structurama North America recently completed a high level design of a mixed use UHPC/GFRC factory

Structurama North America recently completed a high level design of a mixed use UHPC/GFRC factory capable of producing 50,000 m2 per shift for Building Blocks of Kissimmee Florida.

📝 This highly automated factory includes:  dedicated mould manufacture (5 axis milling machines and other tools), the ability to manufacture moulds in steel, FRP, rubber form liners and patterns in wood, phenolic foam, and HDPE. The mould shop and the steel frame workshop deliver directly to the production hall and forms can be changed out in as little as 15 minutes.  Batching and mixing are handled by high precision weigh batchers feeding a series of mixers suited for GFRC mortars and UHPC.

The mortars are delivered direct to the pumping stations (GFRC) or casting buckets (UHPC).  In the case of GFRC, traditional concentric guns (Power Sprays) are used, in the case of UHPC the fibres are already incorporated into the mix at the batching/mixing stage.

The facility is designed to incorporate accelerated curing for both GFRC and UHPC, allowing double casting of expensive forms, reducing costs and schedule. The surface treatment areas allow for the use of retarders, sand blasting, staining and polishing by automatic machinery. There is space for the installation of windows at the factory and all panels can be loaded directly onto trucks from the gantry cranes serving the outside of the factory.