SBM highlighted new technology for mineral processing and crushing at bauma

SBM Mineral Processing had a successful experience at this year's bauma trade show in Munich. The Austrian supplier brought several products in the rock processing, construction material recycling, and concrete mixing technology sectors and recorded a high number of visitors throughout the seven-day show. 

Full impact crushing technology

At the SBM stand, the SAP 1 wheel-mounted crushing plant was a feature of the display. Built in 1960 at the SBM plant in Liezen, it was a highly flexible solution for the production of road construction materials using a triple-deck screen, showcasing the company's ongoing commitment to the industry throughout the decades. 

In the outdoor section, SBM showcased its current mobile crushing plants, highlighting the flexibility of SBM's modular technologies as well as the pioneering hybrid electrified drives with plug-in options. On display was the REMAX 600 large impact crusher with double magnets and an extra long single-deck secondary screen with recirculation, making full use of the 600 tph maximum capacity of the 1400 impact crusher to produce defined fines. 

The JAWMAX 300 with double-deck secondary screen was also popular with visitors as the booth: the highly mobile 300-tph plant enables three final fractions to be produced economically in a single pass — with all the benefits of pressure crushing in terms of wear costs and consumption.

Expanded services for the worldwide aggregate crushing sector 

The reference list of SBM's Stationary Processing division includes over 130 processing plants worldwide providing a variety of rock deposits and residual materials from the construction and industrial sectors, as well as almost 6,700 individual machines. 

Under the new label SBM COMPONENTS, SBM Mineral Processing is now building its extensive range of individual machines available to OEM partners in the fields of plant construction/planning and machine trading. The offering also includes comprehensive user services in materials testing and performance design, as well as technical support for installation, commissioning, and after-sales. 

SBM COMPONENTS will start with 54 selected standard machines: 24 jaw crushers and horizontal and vertical impact crushers with hourly capacities up to 1,000 t/h, covering all crushing stages up to the highly profitable production of sand and high-quality aggregates. Classifiers and production screening machines are represented by a total of 21 machines; 8 vibrating chutes and pushers make up the COMPONENTS segment for feeders and heavy-duty conveyors. In Munich, the manufacturer presented innovative crushing solutions for increased added value through targeted optimization of high-quality fine aggregate and sand fractions, represented by the SMR 13/7/4 reversible horizontal impact crusher and the V8 vertical impact crusher. 

SBM concrete mixing plants 

For the concrete division of SBM Mineral Processing, semi-mobile and stationary DYNAMIX 2500, VARIOMIX, LINEMIX, and TOWERMIX concrete mixing plants were exhibited in various configurations as detailed scale models. 

Two mixing units from the EUROMIX 1600 NOVA mobile concrete mixing plant, launched in November, shared the outdoor stand. Visitors were able to explore the space available for maintenance work inside the smallest mobile SBM concrete plant. Virtually unchanged external dimensions allow easy transport on flatbed trailers. In combination with modularly expandable silo units, horizontal rock hoppers, and the control cabin, the complete mobile mixing plant can be set up and ready for operation in just eight hours using a mobile crane, according to SBM. 

Equipped with the BHS DKX 1.67 twin-shaft mixer with a solid concrete output of 80 m³/h, the plant is suitable for small to medium-sized construction sites with a daily requirement of up to 800 m³ of concrete or liquid soils for backfilling. The 'winter package' allows the EUROMIX 1600 NOVA to work in any weather condition and can be used as a temporary supplement to stationary plants to produce high-quality mixes — including special and recycled concrete — or as a space-saving permanent solution in precast production.

From automation to autonomy 

In a pilot project, SBM Mineral Processing is currently working with an operating company and software specialists in the concrete sector on new solutions that will enable largely autonomous operation of individual process stages or complete mixing plants, including upstream material logistics. 

The focus of this project is on reducing the workload of the responsible personnel, such as the mixing engineer in routine operation and at off-peak times. In further development stages, production, which is already largely automated, will be further optimized by means of comprehensive sensor-based monitoring of the raw materials (moisture, temperature, etc.) and the mixing process (mixing moisture, consistency), which will make it possible to adjust the concrete recipes at short notice. 

As a first step, autonomous concrete delivery to different vehicles based on pre-ordered recipes has now been implemented. Once the truck mixer/tipper is correctly positioned under the delivery hopper, the driver releases the delivery. Special sensors in the hopper monitor the smooth filling of the concrete batches. Once the delivery vehicle has left the area and the passage has been secured, the mixer and hopper are automatically washed if necessary — for example, in the case of fibre or coloured concrete — or at a pre-set interval. Sensors monitor the swivelling range of the cleaning hopper — once cleaning is complete, the passage is reactivated via a barrier.

The team shares their excitement after a productive trade show 

"We are entering the home stretch," says Helmut Haider, SBM sales director for processing, on the subject of autonomous crushing. "Based on the relevant machine classes and their typical applications, we are already working on practical packages that will make 'autonomous crushing' attractive and profitable for as wide a range of users as possible," says Haider, giving an initial outlook on the positioning of the new technology. In addition to significantly reducing the workload for on-site personnel, this should also greatly simplify project planning and machine-specific maintenance. 

"The great flexibility of the EUROMIX technology across all performance classes was particularly impressive to many visitors," says Ernst Stöttinger, SBM sales director for concrete mixing technology, assessing the high level of interest in the plant range, which comprises a total of seven models with hourly outputs of 80 to 175 m³, or up to 300 m³/h in the combined Duo version. "Added to this is our high-quality premium design which, together with modular adaptability and expandability, offers high added value for individual projects and, ultimately, long-term value retention and thus investment security."