What Block Sizes Does a Syrian Market Need? Mould Planning and Pallet Sizes

The buying question, what block sizes does a syrian market need, is answered by two pieces of tooling: the mould and the pallet. A block size is a mould drawing, and that mould is bolted into a pallet circuit with a fixed length and width. Our pallet range starts at 850 x 560 x 20 mm on a QT4-15 and ends at 1,400 x 1,400 x 30 mm on a QST1800, so the same 390 x 190 x 190 mm hollow block is a different mould on each machine. Work the chain backwards, from the size you can sell to the pallet the machine carries, and the specification stops being a guess.

1. How does a block size turn into a mould and a pallet?

A block size fixes four numbers inside the mould: the length, the width and the height of the unit, plus the cores and the joint line that come with them. The mould then has to fit the forming area and the pallet of the machine it is built for. Our hydraulic presses show the constraint: a QS600 forms over 850 x 700 mm on a 900 x 700 x 20 mm pallet with a 450 mm main cylinder, while a QS1500 forms over 1,440 x 850 mm on a 1,500 x 900 x 30 mm pallet with a 720 mm cylinder at 31.5 MPa. A drawing that fits the small press will not fill the large one.

The pallet is the second constraint and it is bought in batches, not single units, because pallets are the largest consumable item on a pallet-based line. A QST1500 runs a 1,350 x 1,150 x 30 mm pallet; a QST6-15 runs 980 x 680 x 20 mm. Same block, different tooling.

• QT4-15: pallet 850 x 560 x 20 mm, 22.9 kW and 6,200 kg on the machine.
• QST6-15: pallet 980 x 680 x 20 mm; QST8-15: pallet 980 x 860 x 22 mm.
• QST1000: pallet 1,100 x 880 x 25 mm; QST1200: pallet 1,350 x 880 x 25 mm.
• QST1500: pallet 1,350 x 1,150 x 30 mm; QST1800: pallet 1,400 x 1,400 x 30 mm.

2. How many blocks come out of one pallet cycle?

The count of moulds on the pallet is where output is really decided. The same 390 x 190 x 190 mm hollow block comes out 5 per mould on a QS800, 10 per mould on a QS1000 and 12 per mould on a QS1500. Move to a 200 x 100 x 60 mm paver and the count rises sharply: 16 per mould on a QS600, 24 on a QS800, 32 on a QS1000 and 40 on a QS1500. A colored floor tile in the same 200 x 100 x 60 mm size runs 40 per mould on a QS1500.

Cycle time does not fall to pay for the higher count. It sits between 18 and 25 seconds on the hydraulic presses and between 15 and 25 seconds on the QST range, so units per mould, not cycle time, is the number that moves when the block size changes. Multiply units per mould by cycles per shift and you have the tier of machine the list needs.

3. What does changing a block size really cost?

A change of size is not a setting. It is a mould set, a pallet batch where the pallet size moves with the product, a stop for fitting and commissioning, and a first article inspection before the line returns to full rate. On a hydraulic press that stop also covers re-setting fill depth, vibration and pressure: the 31.5 MPa and the 105 kN of vibration force on a QST1000 are tuned to the unit in the mould, not to the machine in general.

The pallet batch is the line most often forgotten. A plant running three sizes and changing twice a shift spends part of every shift on setup instead of production, and the trial units made during that setup still carry cement. Cement dosage runs 200 to 260 kg per cubic metre at a water to cement ratio of 0.35 to 0.45, so every changeover has a material bill attached to it.

That is the argument for keeping the list short: one or two main sizes that carry the plant, plus one secondary size for the leftover orders the main two cannot fill.

4. What should you ask before fixing the list?

Three questions decide the list, and none of them is about the machine. Ask who buys: a contractor building walls buys one module at volume, while a yard selling paving and garden work buys small units in several finishes. Ask what strength grade the buyer inspects, because the plant has to hold its mix to the 7 day and 28 day nodes the order names, not to one number on a certificate. Ask whether a colored face layer is wanted: a 200 x 100 x 60 mm colored floor tile runs 40 per mould on a QS1500, and a face mix adds a second feed and a second handling step to every cycle.

Change any one of those three answers and the mould list changes with it, which is why we ask for the list before we discuss a machine.

5. Which order should the decisions follow?

Set the size list and the mould budget first, then choose the machine tier. The reverse order is how a plant ends up with forming area it cannot use or a pallet it cannot feed. Practical sequencing: pick one or two main sizes, check the pallet each one needs, count the units per mould at the cycle time of every candidate machine, and only then match installed power and pressure to the load.

Real capacity runs at 70% to 80% of the nameplate figure, so build the list on the output you can genuinely sell. A QST8-15 at 44.9 kW, 14 t and 95 kN reaches 90,000 standard bricks in an 8 hour shift, while a QST1800 at 104 kW and 34 t reaches 220,000 in the same shift, and both figures assume the sizes on the list.

Once the list is fixed, the machine tier follows from it rather than the other way round.

6. What should you send us with the enquiry?

The list is the input we need. Send the block sizes you intend to sell, the target output per shift, the strength nodes your buyers inspect, the pallet size of the machine you are considering, the raw materials you have, your site voltage and frequency, and the destination port. We reply with a mould and pallet configuration matched to the list, the units per mould at each candidate machine, and the tooling lines that move when the list moves, so the machine tier is quoted against a size list instead of against a catalogue.