September_1971 — Page 19

world

news

Rubbish can be turned into bricks

Professor J. D. Mackenzie of the University of California, Los Angeles, claims he has found a prac- tical way to convert old glass bottles and cow manure into ceramic planks and bricks which can be used as construction materials. Prof. Mackenzie, an authority on ceramic and glass technology, says the glass and cow dung ceramic is like styrofoam in appearance and weight and is a good insulator against both heat and noise. In addition, it is resis- tant to fire and water, and is neutral in smell. It can be painted and glazed, drilled and sawn, and can be glued or nailed together like wood.

His mixture consists of between 5% and 10% dried cow dung and 95% to 90% finely powdered glass. A simple process helps reduce the dung to a fine, black powder. It is then mixed with the powdered glass and heated at relatively low tem- peratures for various lengths of time to produce ceramic boards or bricks of various densities. The density can be controlled so accurately that the final product will either float in water or sink. No- body has thought of a name for the product yet. Caterpillar to have an automated warehouse

To facilitate materials handling and storage in its assembly plant in East Peoria, Illinois, Caterpil- lar Tractor Company will employ what is going to be one of the largest automated warehouse systems in the world. When the warehouse is completed in the fall of 1972, the time needed to deliver ma- terial to the production lines will be reduced from days to hours.

The warehouse will cover 325,000 sq ft. Within the warehouse, there will be a high rise area of 120,000 sq ft with 40 ft clear space from floor to truss. Twenty stacker cranes, handling 3,000 lb loads, will service 28,800 storage openings. Six picking vehicles will service a 25,000 sq ft bin area. The bin and stacker system together contain over 100,000 separate style number parts. Seven thousand line items will be picked on an 8-hour shift.

A computer will control material flow in and out of the warehouse while also keeping inventory and processing warehouse orders. The material

Far East BUILDER, September 1971

handling system, with the aid of the computer, will control the flow of material into the warehouse and out of the picking area via conveyors, lifts and stacker cranes.

Caterpillar is designing the receiving and pro- cessing function of the facility. Westinghouse Elec- tric Corporation's industrial systems division con- ducted the concept development feasibility study and will provide the integrated material handling and storage system.

296 tons of cable for new bridge

The recently opened Erskine Bridge, in Scot- land, has a main span of 1,000 ft (304.8 m) and is considered to be the largest of its kind in the U.K. The cable-stayed bridge provides a vital link across the Clyde west of Glasgow between Renfrewshire

The cable-stayed Erskine Bridge, in Scotland

and Dunbartonshire. Its graceful lines, blending with both town and countryside, is taken to be a fine example of modern bridge design. Altogether, 296 tons of 3-inch (76.2 mm) diameter bridge ca- bles (illustrated) were supplied by British Ropes.

Low-cost, earthquake-resistant houses

In the wake of last year's earthquake in Peru, the Government of that country is introducing im- proved methods for the construction of low-cost. earthquake-resistant houses, under a project aided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). About 120 housing units will be built, using mainly self-help techniques.

In cooperation with the International Labour Organisation, the UNDP will train workers in build- ing construction methods. It will offer technical advice on the development of small building indus- tries and plants in the region. Assistance will also

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