Fresh concrete is treated with carbon dioxide prior to delivery to a product mold for forming concrete products. Carbon dioxide gas is directed through a manifold, which may be coupled to a feedbox or a hopper, upstream from the product mold. Treating the fresh concrete with the carbon dioxide gas while it is in a loose state prior to placement in the product mold may generally promote uniform and enhanced carbon dioxide uptake.

The invention provides a block splitter assembly comprising first lower and second upper opposed splitter blade assemblies. The splitter blade assemblies have a splitting blade and two or more first forming blades. One forming blade is disposed to the right of and one forming blade is disposed to the left of the first splitting blade. The forming blades have forming edges. The splitting blade has a splitting edge that is straight, and the splitting blade has a greater maximum vertical dimension than the maximum vertical dimension of the forming blades. The splitting edge of the first splitting blade is opposed to the splitting edge of the second splitting blade.

A filler for production of cement-bound shaped bodies, comprising a material group mixture of comminuted and sorted waste materials, conditioned with chemical reagents/compounds in the presence of water, wherein the material group mixture is composed of comminuted and sorted waste materials, selected from the following material groups: PPK: paper, paperboard, cardboard plastics inert material textiles wood
which are mixed according with a mass-related material group vector and then comminuted.

A filler for production of cement-bound shaped bodies, comprising a material group mixture of comminuted and sorted waste materials, conditioned with chemical reagents/compounds in the presence of water, wherein the material group mixture is composed of comminuted and sorted waste materials, selected from the following material groups: PPK: paper, paperboard, cardboard plastics inert material textiles wood
which are mixed according with a mass-related material group vector and then comminuted.

A printhead for three-dimensional printing of concrete includes a main body and a regulator device. The main body includes a multi-stage, convergent-divergent cylinder, shearing blades, a pressure chamber, and a secondary inlet. The pressure chamber surrounds the cylinder for temporary storage and regulated processing of a secondary fluid. The secondary inlet transfers the secondary fluid from the pressure chamber to the multi-stage, convergent-divergent cylinder to form a mixture, which is discharged from the printhead. The printhead can, for example, be used for additive manufacturing of cement-based materials.

A printhead for three-dimensional printing of concrete includes a main body and a regulator device. The main body includes a multi-stage, convergent-divergent cylinder, shearing blades, a pressure chamber, and a secondary inlet. The pressure chamber surrounds the cylinder for temporary storage and regulated processing of a secondary fluid. The secondary inlet transfers the secondary fluid from the pressure chamber to the multi-stage, convergent-divergent cylinder to form a mixture, which is discharged from the printhead. The printhead can, for example, be used for additive manufacturing of cement-based materials.

The present invention relates to a method for removing moisture from powder to be used in an additive manufacturing process for forming a three-dimensional article through successive fusion of parts of at least one layer of a powder bed provided on a work table, which parts corresponds to successive cross sections of the three-dimensional article, characterized in that said method comprising the steps of: providing at least a first powder tank and at least at least a second powder tank, providing a predetermined amount of powder on a movable table inside said first powder tank, heating the top surface of the powder in said first powder tank to a predetermined temperature interval for removing moisture from said powder, raising said movable table a predetermined distance, moving a predetermined thickness of the powder material from said first powder tank to said second powder tank.

An additive manufacturing method and machine for an object using at least one powder, capable of limiting risks of dissemination of the powder. The method including the following steps in succession: manufacture a solid block starting from the powder and a sublimatable material, load the solid block in a loading space of the machine; sublimate the material present in the solid block and recover the powder; and additive manufacturing of the object by stacking successive layers made using the powder recovered in the previous step.

A pug mill having a housing and a cantilevered shaft extending through the housing includes, in seriatim, a vacuum chamber, a wall, a mixing chamber and a reduction cone. A communication port about the shaft is positioned in the wall between the vacuum chamber and the mixing chamber. Vacuum can be maintained within the mixing chamber by air passing through the port. An auger associated with the shaft forces clay toward the reduction cone. This creates a seal for maintaining vacuum within the mixing chamber and extrudes cylindrical blocks of conditioned clay without significant air bubbles. A deflection plate rotating with the shaft and a spiral element about the shaft keep the communication port clear. The shaft is eccentrically mounted. The dividing wall is removable.

A pug mill having a housing and a cantilevered shaft extending through the housing includes, in seriatim, a vacuum chamber, a wall, a mixing chamber and a reduction cone. A communication port about the shaft is positioned in the wall between the vacuum chamber and the mixing chamber. Vacuum can be maintained within the mixing chamber by air passing through the port. An auger associated with the shaft forces clay toward the reduction cone. This creates a seal for maintaining vacuum within the mixing chamber and extrudes cylindrical blocks of conditioned clay without significant air bubbles. A deflection plate rotating with the shaft and a spiral element about the shaft keep the communication port clear. The shaft is eccentrically mounted. The dividing wall is removable.