Pallets as cost-efficient circulation units
Pallet circulation systems are not only suited to manufacturing large, precast concrete parts; circulation pallets can also be used as supports for staircase and pile formwork. The advantage: lower costs and effective use of the plant.
Precast concrete can assume shapes other than large-format wall and flooring elements by using the pallets as cost-efficient circulation units. OAO Gatchinskiy DSK, a Russian manufacturer of precast concrete parts, specialises in prefabricating multi-storey residential buildings. The demand for standardised staircases and landings is commensurately high as a result. The company has three circulation plants in its factory in Gatchina, which it uses to manufacture staircase elements. Moulds are simply placed onto the pallets and magnetically held in place. The magnet systems required for this
as well as the respective shuttering profiles are developed and supplied entirely by Weckenmann Anlagentechnik.
RIGIDISED PILE FORMORK
Driven piles can also be manufactured in this way using circulation systems. A Weckenmann customer from Austria primarily caters to the commercial construction industry. Prestressed foundation piles are among the products it offers and requires pile formwork that assumes the tensioning forces directly and is attached to the circulating pallet at the edges using just a few threaded connections. Eight piles measuring 30 x 30 cm or five piles measuring 40 x 40 cm in width and up to 14 m in length can be manufactured in this manner on a single pallet, in circular formation.
The advantages of this technique are readily apparent. By using the circulating pallets as supports, all production equipment of an existing circulation system can be leveraged to manufacture further products without any additional space being required. The product line can thus be expanded and resources used more effectively, which make the initial investment pay for itself even more quickly.
