QST1200 Block Making Machine: 57.6 kW for 120,960 Bricks a Shift

A QST1200 block making machine sits in the middle of our servo line. It takes a 1,350 x 880 x 25 mm pallet, draws 57.6 kW and presses at 31.5 MPa. Those three numbers decide which plants should buy it and which should look at another model.

Most buyers ask two questions first. How many bricks does it make in a shift, and what does it cost to run. The 1200 answers both with one pallet size and one motor rating. This guide compares it with the smaller 1000 and the larger 1800, using the same published numbers for all three.

1. What the 1200 class buys you: a medium pallet and the widest product range

The 1200 uses a 1,350 x 880 x 25 mm pallet, the same long side as the 1500. That pallet is the reason it can run more moulds than the 1000. It handles solid bricks, hollow blocks, pavers, kerbs and slope blocks on one frame.

At 57.6 kW installed power it stays inside a normal factory supply, and at 17 t it does not need the massive foundation the bigger frames demand. For a plant that wants product range without jumping a class, this is the point on the curve.

Two buyers look at the 1200 for different reasons. One wants to add pavers and kerbs to a brick-only line. The other is outgrowing a smaller frame but cannot justify the 1800 yet. Both get the same answer: check the mould list first, then the pallet.

2. Where 63 bricks a mould and 120,960 bricks a shift come from

One cycle on the 1200 makes 63 standard bricks of 240 x 115 x 51 mm. The cycle runs 15 to 25 s. Vibration at 150 kN fills the mould, then the press closes at 31.5 MPa and the pallet leaves with a finished, handleable product.

The published output is up to 120,960 standard bricks in an eight hour shift. That figure assumes steady cycles, full pallets and no long stops. Real output drops when mould changes, cement delivery or curing racks cause gaps, so treat it as a ceiling and not a promise.

Strength is not set on the machine alone. Cement hydration in the next days decides the final grade, and trapped air costs about 5 percent of compressive strength for every 1 percent left in the mix. Keep the water to cement ratio between 0.35 and 0.45 and the 1200 will hold the grade you tested.

3. QST1200 or QST1000: 48.9 kW, 51 bricks a mould, 73,440 to 97,920 a shift

The 1000 is the smaller frame. It draws 48.9 kW and makes 51 standard bricks a mould, with a published range of 73,440 to 97,920 bricks in eight hours. The 1200 makes 63 bricks a mould and reaches 120,960. The gap is real but it comes with a price and a footprint.

Pick the 1000 when daily demand is modest, the building is tight, or the supply is limited. Pick the 1200 when you already sell enough blocks to keep a wider mould set busy. The pallet difference matters more than the power difference here.

Both run on the same 31.5 MPa hydraulic pressure, so the difference is throughput, not block quality. The table below sets out the four servo models on the numbers we publish.

4. When to step up to the QST1800 instead

The 1800 takes a 1,400 x 1,400 x 30 mm pallet, draws 104 kW and vibrates at 280 kN. It weighs 34 t. Its published output runs 165,000 to 220,000 standard bricks in eight hours, or 81,000 to 108,000 blocks of 240 x 115 x 90 mm.

Move up when the order book is full, when hollow blocks of 390 x 190 x 190 mm are the main product, or when a single large mould has to run all day. The 1800 carries a servo closed loop drive and an imported proportional hydraulic system. It also needs a bigger building and a power study before it lands.

Do not buy the 1800 to look bigger. It needs 104 kW, a 34 t frame and a hall that can take a 15,500 x 5,500 x 3,200 mm machine. If your market buys small hollow blocks, the 1200 will run the same moulds with less power and less floor.

5. Dedicated vibration feeding and moulds for kerbs, pavers and slope blocks

The 1200 ships with an electro hydraulic servo drive, full process PLC control, a dedicated vibration feeding system and remote control. The feeding system is what lets a mix reach the corners of a kerb or an interlocking paver mould. Without it, those products come out short or cracked.

Moulds for these shapes take more heat treatment because the section is thin and the wear is uneven. Ask for the mould drawing with the machine, and plan a spare set for the best selling shape. A second mould costs far less than a stopped line.

Ask for the mould drawing set before you sign. The drawing tells you the fill depth, the core shape and the corner radius, and it is the document the mould shop will work from. If the drawing is vague, the kerb arrives vague too.

6. Power supply and foundation checklist

The 1200 footprint is 11,500 x 4,550 x 2,800 mm and the frame weighs 17 t. Induction motors draw about 5 to 7 times their rated current at start, and a 15 to 25 s cycle means the vibration motors start and stop more than 140 times an hour. Size the supply and the protection for that, not for the running load.

Plan the layout around the pallet path, not around the machine. The 11,500 mm length is fixed, but the space for a stacker, a pallet return and curing racks is a choice you make at design time. Fix it later and you pay twice.

• Send us the site voltage and the plant layout, and our engineers size the panel to your supply.
• Allow a level concrete base and clear space on all four sides for pallet handling.
• Confirm raw material samples and the mould list before the frame is built.
• Plan curing racks and a stacker route so full pallets never block the machine.