Essay --

Advantages and Limitations of the Conventional Brick Manufacturing Methods:- The brick making process starts with the preparation of the clay with which the bricks will be made. This clay is then molded into the specified dimensions. There are two types of molding-Slop Molding & Sand Molding. Once dried, these molded bricks are transferred to a fire kiln where the bricks are subjected to a very high temperature to harden them. Now-a-days new manufacturing methods are replacing the conventional ones and some are still in practice. It’s because the conventional methods have some advantages as well as some disadvantages in some or other step. Based upon their disadvantages and advantages either they are being replaced by new methods or are still in practice. The advantages and disadvantages of these steps could be as follows:- Preparation of the Clay:- The right type of clay is extracted from the ground. This clay contains hard lumps in it. To get smooth, soft and moist mixture which contains no hard lump, the clay is treated. The treatment is done in two steps:-Tempering and mixing. In Tempering, water is added in exact proportions based on the clay quality in the tempering process and left for around 1 to 5 days which softens and lumps. Conventionally clay pits are flooded with water for tempering purpose (excess water added). It could seem better way for the digging becomes easier but in terms of the strength of the final brick, with which we can’t play much, it’s a big disadvantageous approach. Instead we should dig the soil first and then mix adequate amount of water to it. This step is followed by Mixing to break big lumps and to homogenize the softened clay mixture. The mixing could be done mechanically, by the use of some ani... ... Types of Conventional Bricks The Building bricks are classified based upon their strength which is directly affected by the baking temperature. So the less baked brick is of poor quality and vice versa. These are termed as A/B grade bricks in Indian countryside. Now-a-days the A grade bricks cost is around INR 3500 per 1000 bricks and around INR 2500 for B grade bricks. There are other types of bricks also like Facing Bricks, Glazed Bricks etc. The price of these bricks is highly varying based upon the properties you want to have like texture, color, heat resistance etc. References:- 1. http://www.gate-international.org/documents/publications/webdocs/pdfs/bas-tb11e.pdf 2. http://forest.mtu.edu/pcforestry/resources/studentprojects/bricks/process.htm 3. ‘Village Level Brick-Making’ by Anne Beamish & Will Donovan. 4. http://www.brickability.co.uk/products/bricks.htm