clay brick manufacture china
From evaluating sources of raw material to prototyping colors and blends, the Technical Center is where brick manufacturing future takes shape. These efforts are led by Jim Krueger, a longtime Acme associate who is manager of Research and Production Services.
Clay may seem like an inexhaustible resource, but it can be a challenge to find new clay deposits that are a) suitable for brick manufacture; and b) in sufficient quantity to support decades of mining. Acme’s Exploration Department meets this twofold challenge every day.
New raw materials can come either from existing sources (either farther out or deeper) or from entirely new deposits. In both cases, the evaluation process begins by taking long, cylindrical “core samples” at regular intervals in the area under study, to show the layers of clay in the deposit area.
Back at the lab, the samples are evaluated not only for suitability but also for desired color. “Each section of a core might produce a different color body,” Mat Tramel said. “If the plant has a target of orange, we may be able to use the full core sample area material. But if it comes back too light, and we’re looking to make red brick, then we would look somewhere else – hence the term ‘exploration.’”
The Exploration offices contain surveying maps annotated with results; historical samples; maps of current mining operations; and a comprehensive archive of survey data, satellite images, topographical maps, and geological maps with elevation changes.
