New development: Curling with oscillating brush rollers

The Curling, newly developed by Schindler GmbH, Germany, is equipped with oscillating brush rollers. As a result, the brushing machine is compact, more energy-efficient and the tool costs per square meter of concrete block are reduced.

The impulse for the product development came from a customer inquiry. The customer did not have enough space for a standard brushing machine in the finishing line of his concrete paving stone factory. Yet this was the initiation for the Curling developed by Schindler GmbH.

Oscillating brush rollers

The length of brushing machines is particularly influenced by the positioning of the brush rollers. In order to give the surface of concrete paving stones or concrete slabs an even shine from all sides, the brush rollers are often arranged at an angle to one another.

Schindler GmbH therefore set itself the task of finding a solution in which the inclined position of the brush rollers is minimized while the quality of the finished concrete block surface remains the same. The result is the machine Curling. The most striking innovation of the Curling are the oscillating brush rollers. Thanks to the oscillation, the concrete block is also brushed by driving vertical to the working direction. The brushes do not have to be at an angle to each other for this. The result is a more compact machine. Due to the effect of oscillation, this machine Curling requires fewer processing stations. A two-brush machine including inlet and outlet and suction only needs about 3.00 meters, a four-brush machine about 4.50 meters of space. This length can often be easily integrated into existing plants.

Even wear of the brush bristles

However, the compact design is not the only advantage of the Curling. A well-known problem is the uneven wear of the brushes, which is also a visible problem for brush machine operators during format changes. When working on layers of paving stones, there are slight protrusions on the brushes at the joints of the stones, which cause streaks on the surfaces when changing to a different format. This is avoided by the oscillation.

No manual trimming of the brushes

It turned out, however, that the main benefit for the customer and operator is that the lateral protrusions of the Curling brushes no longer have to be strenuously trimmed by hand. Due to the oscillation, the brushes are evenly strained, also in the side area of the stone layers. Furthermore, a higher rate of removal can be achieved, which reduces the tool costs per square meter processed.

Additional advantages

During the development of the machine, Schindler GmbH significantly reduced the required power of the drives by adapted mechanical solutions and thus reduced the energy consumption. Furthermore, a newly developed, highly dynamic lifting system for the brush rollers prevents streaking on the concrete block when the machine is at a standstill. The Curling is successfully in use and convinces in daily application both with its performance and its handling.