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On the relationship between concrete mixing equipment configuration and terrain Author: Zhang Quanjun This year marks the beginning of the **11th Five-Year Plan**, and a series of key projects under this plan are being carried out step by step. The goal for road construction is to reach a total national road length of 2.3 million kilometers, with an increase of 380,000 kilometers over five years； The highway network reached 65,000 kilometers, an increase of 24,000 kilometers. There is an increasing number of projects related to railways and large-scale hydroelectric power stations. As China continues to invest more in infrastructure development, as well as in the construction of highways, railways, and hydroelectric facilities at the local level, the National Rural Highway Construction Plan approved by the State Council identifies accelerating the construction of rural roads as a top priority in transportation efforts during the 11th Five-Year Plan period. With the large-scale construction of roads connecting towns and villages, various types of concrete machinery suitable for use in highway and railway construction are bound to have broad market prospects. Due to the variations in the location where the equipment is installed, its structural position, the concrete transportation equipment used, the direction of transportation, and the loading equipment, user requirements change over time, depending on location, environment, and purchasing power. The “customization” of products has become one of the ways to meet users’ personalized needs; therefore, product design must adapt to these ever-changing demands in a timely manner, rather than sticking to an unchanging approach. As market competition becomes increasingly fierce, the central role of users is undeniable. To meet the needs of various users, it is necessary to communicate thoroughly with them before ordering the equipment; this includes understanding the terrain where the equipment will be installed, as well as the conditions related to receiving and transporting materials. Based on this information, decisions can be made regarding the configuration of the equipment, its installation method, the height at which materials will be received, the layout of the tracks, and the location where the batching machines will be installed, thereby enabling the creation of accurate installation diagrams. It provides effective assistance to users in planning the overall layout on-site and carrying out foundation construction, thereby avoiding the need for structural changes to be made to the equipment after it is delivered to the site according to standard specifications, in order to meet the actual usage requirements. Such changes would not only delay the project timeline but also result in waste of resources. Therefore, it is practical to make better use of the terrain when selecting equipment and designing installation plans; this can improve work efficiency, reduce energy consumption, procurement costs, and maintenance costs, as well as save manpower, materials, and financial resources, benefiting all parties involved. Over the past few years, our company has placed great emphasis on communicating and interacting with customers in this regard. We configure multiple mixing systems for customers based on their actual needs, which has been well received by them and earned us positive reviews. This approach has helped us expand our market presence and gain many regular, loyal customers who choose our products no matter where their construction sites are located. Below is a brief overview of some of the methods we use in making these configurations: 1. We determine the locations of the mixers and batching machines taking into account the terrain, making full use of it to reduce the lifting height required by the cranes. By selecting appropriate track lengths, we can shorten the time needed for material loading, thereby improving production efficiency. On the other hand, this also helps to reduce the amount of earthwork that needs to be done, saving space as well as labor costs. One of the layout diagrams is shown in Figure 1. 2. By making use of the terrain, the mixer’s lifting mechanism is eliminated; the feeding machine’s chute is able to deliver materials directly into the mixer’s hopper through a transition funnel. Since the lifting mechanism, as well as the feeding hopper and track frame, are not needed, this reduces costs associated with material procurement, lowers electricity consumption, saves energy, and at the same time improves production efficiency. The layout is shown in Figure 2. 3. According to the site requirements and the direction of concrete transportation, the material receiving location was changed. As shown in Figure 3, material was originally received at the bottom; however, due to interior construction work, a hopper together with a crane is now used for transporting the materials. 4. Due to space constraints, the storage area may be insufficient or the necessary loading equipment may be lacking; in such cases, manual loading of materials is required. The batching machine must then be installed underground or semi-underground, which necessitates the appropriate selection of tracks and wire rope lengths based on the actual conditions. The figure below shows a layout design for a user, with a shared chute and a batching machine installed underground, as shown in Figure 4. 5. In conjunction with concrete conveying and receiving equipment, adjust the height of the mixer legs, the length of the water inlet pipes, the length of the track frame, and the length of the steel cables. In practical operations, due to the variety of material receiving equipment, items such as agricultural vehicles and dump trucks with mixing tanks have different loading heights. Even among dump trucks, varying models result in different loading heights. In addition, in a one-to-two batching system, shared material receiving chutes are designed according to specific requirements, which proves particularly useful for pumping and material reception by tank trucks. Therefore, it is essential to have a thorough understanding when configuring equipment, so as to design accurate and practical equipment setups for users. Every year, thanks to such special configurations, the company manages to retain a large number of users, truly ensuring that they are satisfied with their purchases and can use the products with confidence. Such configurations are widely used in large-scale construction sites such as those managed by China Railway Eighth Bureau, Tenth Bureau, Eleventh Bureau, Eighteenth Bureau, Twentieth Bureau, and China Tunnel Engineering First Bureau, as well as on projects like the Xiangyu Line, Xuyu Line, Tianbao Road, Chongqing Ring Expressway, Xiluodu Hydropower Station, and Jinping Hydropower Station. They have yielded satisfactory social and economic benefits, earning a reputation for high-quality service. In short, as a design department, it should require designers to not only participate in market research but also to maintain regular communication with sales companies and users, and to get involved in contract negotiation processes in order to gather various pieces of information about users, thereby enabling the formulation of specific equipment configurations and implementation plans. Over the years, the company has adhered to a \"user-centered\" approach, and by following this philosophy it has strived to maximize customer satisfaction, thereby enhancing customer loyalty and improving the overall competitiveness of its various products.