Method and apparatus for manufacturing compressed earthen blocks

摘要

A machine and method for producing dimensionally consistent compressed earthen blocks under consistent and uniform pressures is disclosed. The approximately rectangular shaped block is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shaped chamber having given dimensions. A plate forms one wall of this chamber and has the mobility required to compress the earth within the chamber. At the termination of compression, this plate is located at a predetermined location. A dog is forced into the compressed earthen block after the compression plate has ceased which effectively reduces the internal volume of the chamber. The dog is forced in under a known and consistent pressure. When a block is formed of less material, the terminal point for the dog will be further into the block than when the same-size block is made of more material. Additional aspects include a calibration unit for determining a volume of raw material to load into the compression chamber; and a hydraulic cylinder able to actuate two coaxial rams independently.