Semi Automatic or Automatic Block Machine for Syria: Choosing by Output

Semi automatic or automatic block machine for Syria is decided by one calculation, not by preference. Divide the daily output you need by the blocks one mould produces, multiply by the cycle time, and compare the result with the seconds your shift actually contains. A QT4-15 cycles in 15 to 20 seconds on a 850 x 560 x 20 mm pallet at 22.9 kW installed power; a QST1800 cycles in 15 to 25 seconds on a 1,400 x 1,400 x 30 mm pallet at 104 kW. What separates them is throughput and headcount, not block quality.

How do you size the machine from your daily output?

The gate is arithmetic and it closes quickly. One 8 hour shift holds 28,800 seconds. At a 20 second cycle that is 1,440 moulding cycles, and a 5 block mould caps the shift at 7,200 blocks. Derate to 70% to 80% of the nameplate figure and the honest band is 5,000 to 5,800 blocks per shift. A two shift plant works about 500 shifts a year, so the same line sells against 2.5 to 2.9 million blocks a year rather than against the figure printed on the plate. If your target sits above that band, buy a bigger mould, then a shorter cycle, then a third shift, in that order.

Blocks per mould is the number buyers skip. Our hydraulic presses carry a five block mould for a 390 x 190 x 190 mm hollow block on a QS800, ten blocks on a QS1000 and twelve on a QS1500, and the gate shifts with each step. On a 200 x 100 x 60 mm paver the same three presses return 24, 32 and 40 pieces per cycle. Change the mould and the same frame serves a different daily output, which is why the mould order belongs inside the sizing decision and not in a later purchase.

Where does a semi automatic line still spend labour?

A semi automatic line mechanises dosing, vibration and pressing, then hands the green block to people. The block leaves on a 850 x 560 x 20 mm pallet and travels to the curing area on hand trucks or a small forklift, and that strip needs 3 to 4 handlers per shift on top of the machine operator. Pallet returns, mould cleaning and yard stacking sit in the same band, so the headcount is real work and not supervision.

The automatic route replaces those posts with a pallet feeder cycling about 13 seconds, a cuber working at 15 to 18 seconds per layer and a strapping machine, and it carries 12 to 16 fewer operators per day on the same output. Semi automatic keeps capital lower and hands higher. The decision point is the output you need and the shifts you can staff, and on two shifts the headcount saving usually settles the question.

The power and weight ladder, step by step

Installed power on the moulding machine steps up in five stages: 22.9 kW on a QT4-15, 37.4 kW on a QT5-15, 44.9 kW on a QST8-15, 57.6 kW on a QST1200 and 104 kW on a QST1800. Machine weight climbs with it, from 6,200 kg at the small end to 14 t, 17 t and 34 t, and the top unit arrives with a main frame of 15,500 x 5,500 x 3,200 mm.

Hydraulic pressure steps from 25 MPa to 31.5 MPa and vibration force from 68 kN to 280 kN across the same range. Foundations, the crane or forklift, and the transformer or generator standing behind the plant are sized on weight and starting current, so the power ladder is a civil decision before it is an electrical one. Our machines are built for 380 V and 50 Hz, and we size the supply side against the voltage and frequency you have on site.

Cycle time, pallet size and block type

Cycle time splits the line into three bands. The QT4-15 and QT5-15 run 15 to 20 seconds, the QST series 15 to 23 seconds, and the pallet-free QSMT series 13 to 18 seconds, which is the quickest of the three because the wet product is cut and stacked without a pallet board. A QSMT1000 is rated at 135,000 pieces of 240 x 115 x 50 mm in an 8 hour shift on a 1,150 x 1,100 mm moulding area.

Pallet size follows the machine class: 850 x 560 x 20 mm at the small end, 980 x 860 x 22 mm on a QST8-15, 1,350 x 880 x 25 mm on a QST1200 and 1,400 x 1,400 x 30 mm on a QST1800. Board thickness and board quality decide how many trips a pallet survives, and the pallet fleet is the largest consumable item on the pallet-based route. Tell us the block sizes you intend to sell and we will list the moulds required before you compare machines.

Does the automatic line pay back on two shifts?

Payback on the automatic line is a headcount calculation, and it is checkable before purchase. Where handling, cubing and strapping remove 12 to 16 operators per day, payback commonly lands in the 12 to 30 month band. Two shift operation gives about 500 shifts a year; a one shift plant has roughly half of that, and the same capital over half the working hours needs longer to return.

Do not run the calculation on the plate figure. Real output sits at 70% to 80% of nameplate, and equipment is only 40% to 55% of the plant investment, with landing and inland transport commonly adding 15% to 40% on top of the machine invoice. Automatic equipment buys hours and operators; it does not change cement, aggregate, curing time or the 7 day and 28 day strength nodes your buyer tests.

What to send with the enquiry

We do not publish a price for a specific model because half of the figure is site work, and the range across our line spans more than 100 times from the smallest unit to the largest. Five items change the configuration: the block types and sizes you will sell, the raw materials you can buy locally, the pallet size you plan to run, the voltage and frequency at your site, and the discharge port where the shipment lands.

Send those five and we return a configuration with a cost structure line by line, from the moulding machine through the mixer, the handling and cubing package, the spares and the working capital that covers the first months. Every line is checkable against a specification, and the automation level is fixed by your daily target rather than by a catalogue page. Add your target output per shift and we will show the calculation that leads to one machine class.