An automated machine makes it easy to follow the yellow brick road.
When I was a little kid watching The Wizard of Oz, I was in awe of that long and winding brick road. As Dorothy set out on her journey, I did wonder (just a little bit) how long it must have taken the munchkins to build it.
If they had the RPS6 Road Printer, probably not long at all.
This brick-laying machine is loaded with loose bricks, which are assembled in vertical patterns in the machine by hand (that’s about the only human intervention required). As the machine rolls backwards, the gravity brings the bricks flat to rest on the ground. It is a self-steering system that is capable of creating roads from 3-to-20 feet wide as the stones are automatically placed in the correct pattern on the surface. Then a steamroller follows up, pushing the bricks down to secure them in place.
The benefit? As with anything automated, it is faster and more efficient than a human. The Road Printer can lay 500 square meters of bricks in a day vs. a brick-layer who could probably complete about 100 square meters per day by hand.
While the Road Printer works on electricity, another version, called the Eco Printer Road paving machine uses a “smart” lithium-ion battery, which handles energy via a bus control. Equipped with a Battery Management System with technology to balance multiple batteries, the system has a long battery life and a fast charge time of less than an hour. All of which makes it easier to get the show on the road!
