Position: In this page, you will learn the batching system used in concrete batching which from PL-Spectrum.
Command Alkon Spectrum: voted the #1 concrete batching system
Concrete ready mix producers, from small family run businesses to large multinationals, have long recognized the benefits of automating batch operations. With typical margins of under 6% and high costs in materials, automation is critical to profitability and the ability to compete. Command Alkon is at the forefront in providing these revenue enhancing capabilities to producers of every size.
Spectrum is our latest product for the automation of concrete ready mix batching. We believe that it is the most advanced, most reliable batching control system available anywhere in the world and delivers unmatched productivity and profitability for its owners. Here are some of the reasons why.
Digital Throughout
One plant operator came to us recently complaining that they were losing thousands of dollars in mysteriously vanishing materials. The cause? Their concrete batching system , from a competitor, was part digital and part analog. As a result, the scale readout and the computer readout had drifted apart over time (sort of like the difference between a wind up and a quartz watch). The computer was adding more material than was required! Spectrum is digital throughout, making drifting scale values next to impossible.
Load Cell Self Test Are you sure that your load cells are working properly? What is your cost if they aren't? Spectrum is unique in being able to test automatically for load cell failure, potentially saving you from bad loads, wasted material, and unhappy customers.
Uses Standard PC Technology
Unlike other products, which require complicated add-on computer boards, Spectrum consists of a standard PC connected to the I/O system with just one cable. Connections are reliable, repair, if needed, is fast, and the manual station has been "future-proofed" to allow simple upgrades and the capacity for advanced operating systems.
Multiple Plants
Spectrum is able to run up to three plants, directly and simultaneously from just one terminal. If you have multiple plants, or dual lanes, why not take a look at the proven Spectrum?
Up to 12 Simultaneous Displays and 80 Manual Controls
With Spectrum you see and control exactly what's going on, with or without your PC.
Remote Batching
Have you thought about the advantages of having semiunattended batching plants and controlling their batch jobs from another primary site? With Spectrum you can not only initiate a remote batch, which one or two other products can do, but you can also use detailed, graphical feedback to monitor discharge and completion.
Multiple Users
Do you have more than one employee at your batch site? Spectrum can provide up to four additional users using low cost remote color terminals to access and use inventory, mix designs, projects, customer records, maintenance, and orders. Are others able to offer an inexpensive true multiuser batching system ?
TCP/IP
Network protocols are a pain to deal with. Choosing anything other than the world's most established standard, TCP/IP, is questionable, especially when it comes to linking with other systems. Spectrum is industry standard and enterprise upgradeable, making connecting it to a dispatch system that much easier.
WinLink
If you are a plant operations manager, this feature is invaluable. Spectrum's WinLink allows your Windows 95 or later PC to access up to 50 plants and have complete administrative control of all their Spectrum files. You won't be driving to every plant just to make some minor changes or to look over batching information.
Reliability
With easy to replace, low voltage buttons, which can last up to 20 times as long as the high voltage types used by other companies, and easily reassignable I/O points, is built for the long haul. Spectrum has been designed with simplicity, quality, and standardization in mind to make life easier for you and your operations more reliable than ever before.
Advanced Self-Tuning
Some automatic batching system s have simple self-tuning features. Spectrum tracks batching results from thousands of material feed cycles. Using statistical techniques to calculate free fall and other variables, Spectrum provides high speed loads with fewer tolerance errors giving you higher productivity, less waste, and higher quality small batches.
Unmatched Flexibility
Spectrum allows materials to be introduced into the cycle with flexibility unmatched by other systems. If your batch system uses timers to introduce materials into the cycle, how is quality maintained from small to large loads?
Dependent Flow Rate Batching
What kinds of problems occur when your aggregates slow down or hang up? You get clouds of cement or you waste time trying to correct loads that have only partially discharged, to name just two. With Spectrum, the discharge sequence is automatically based on your mix design. Furthermore, if your aggregate slows down, so will your cement.
Freewheeling
Spectrum begins weighing the load materials for the next load as soon as the weigh hopper is empty, even while the current load is discharging. This "freewheeling" maximizes productivity and can result in throughput increases of up to 15%. This isn't an expensive optional extra. With Command Alkon, it's a base feature of the batching system .
Remote Diagnostics
Do you find yourself spending a lot of time on the phone trying to explain a problem? You don't have to with Spectrum because our trained technicians can simply dial into your batching system via modem and take a look for themselves. We see exactly what the operator sees. This allows quick diagnosis of the problem and a resumption of production as fast as possible.
96 I/O Points
With additions to your concrete batching plant like ever more admixes, the number of valves and gates you control can quickly run out. This can limit your product variety and productivity and give the competition the edge. Spectrum can be expanded to 96 I/O points (further expandable to a whopping 192!), meeting the needs of even the very largest of batch facilities.
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In addition to all of these features, Spectrum offers the full range of standard functions you demand for your automated plant - detailed reports, potentially unlimited mix designs, ingredient listings, projects and customer information, reliable and accurate moisture measurement, the best moisture probe in the business, slurry mixing, and much more. Call us today for a complete demonstration of our extensive capabilities at +1 614 799 6650 or 800 624 1872.
For more information contact a sales consultant at: Command Alkon Incorporated
