EN
The production of precast concrete elements in a battery mould is a space-saving alternative to production on tilting tables or at circulation plants. Vertical production ensures very good utilisation of the production area and reduces the transport effort. Battery moulds enable formwork-smooth surfaces on 5 sides in combination with the upcrete® technology even on all sides. In addition, structured surfaces can be produced on both sides, for example by means of form liners. Lifting the elements in a vertical position saves the tipping process and reduces the risk of damage to the element. In addition, the ability to fill several bags simultaneously and produce a correspondingly large number of elements can bring a significant increase in production capacity.
Special features of the Ratec battery system
Battery moulds from Ratec differ from many other solutions primarily in that they are designed for pressure filling from below and thus in a particularly robust design. However, it is always possible to fill the individual pockets convention-ally from above using a concrete bucket. Depending on requirements, the formwork can be equipped with vibrator and heating functions to shorten the curing time and further increase the surface quality. However, a combination with upcrete® pump technology is generally recommended by Ratec, especially for window and door recesses, built-in parts and particularly narrow element cross-sections. All-round tongue-and-groove profiling on the element edges has also already been realised in battery moulds with the help of upcrete®. Elements with structured surfaces on both sides are possible with exchangeable form liners as well as prefabricated pro-filing within the pockets, which, however, cannot be flexibly changed.
Prerequisite for pressure filling with upcrete®: the availability of suitable raw materials and sufficient expertise in the production of a suitable concrete formulation are an advantage in the successful application of upcrete® technology. In-depth training by a Ratec application technician will help you get started.
The number of pockets and all other parameters are worked out on a customer-specific basis. Future expansions and adaptations are taken into account just as much as the customers’ existing production processes. For example, it can be started with a smaller battery mould, which can also be subsequently expanded to up to 2 x 10 pockets if desired. The clamping of the pockets can be mechanical or hydraulic.
The largest version installed so far allowed the production of façade elements up to 9.00 m long and 3.90 m high. Especially in combination with recesses, these dimensions can be filled by upcrete® without any loss of quality.
Battery moulds from Ratec are characterised by high robustness and durability and are suitable for fair-faced concrete surfaces that are formwork-smooth on all sides and for very low dimensional tolerances. Together with upcrete®, Ratec battery systems are particularly suitable for very complex element geometries.
Magnetic shutters for battery moulds
For the flexible adaptation of battery moulds to different element sizes, Ratec has also developed its own shutter solution with magnet technology. The solution is based on the SAS system - Standard Automatic Formwork, which is the standard system for solid element production in circulation plants and has now been adapted for vertical production.
The shutters are available as firmly bolted edge stop ends and as laterally movable inner stop ends for the production of several elements in one pocket. Both shutter types can be built up in height for different element thicknesses using key-hole technology.
The movable inner shutter can be moved back and forth by hand on L-profiles welded to the top of the battery panel. They are fixed to the panel with integrated high-performance magnets. All stop ends also have crane attachments. For demoulding, the firmly screwed edge stop ends can be moved sideways upwards. The shutters are also equipped with a special system to extend their adhesive forces. The solution can be adapted for common battery systems from other manufacturers.
Ratec is continuously developing these and similar solutions. The projects implemented so far with battery moulds on a total of four continents demonstrate the great international interest in the vertical solution as a means for the efficient production of complex, formwork-smooth and high-quality precast concrete elements.
