Auto-Consistence User Guide

COMMANDbatch V1.06 & Later

Last Updated 4/19/18

www.commandalkon.com
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1800 International Park Drive, Suite 400
Birmingham, AL 35243-4232
1 (205) 879-3282
www.commandalkon.com
Main Customer Support Phone Number: 1 (800) 624-1872

COMMANDseries (and the names of its components, such as COMMANDconcrete and

COMMANDnetwork), Spectrum, Eagle, and COMMANDbatch are registered trademarks of
Command Alkon Incorporated. All rights reserved.
Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other names may be
trademarks of their respective owners.

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 Contents

Contents ........................................................................................ 3

Introduction .................................................................................. 4
Purpose ................................................................................................ 4
Audience ............................................................................................... 4
Revision Summary ................................................................................. 4

Auto-Consistence Control ............................................................... 6

Mixer / E-Z CAL Requirements for Auto-Consistence .................................... 8
COMMANDbatch Setups for Auto-Consistence ............................................. 9
Creating a Consistence Calibration Record ............................................. 10
Configuring a Consistence Material ....................................................... 11
Creating a Consistence Controlled Metered Feed .................................... 12
Defining the Consistence Feed Sequence (Optional) ............................... 13
Configuring System Parameters ........................................................... 14
Setting up a Mixer for Auto-Consistence ............................................... 15
Creating Consistence Control Groups .................................................... 16
Consistence Setpoints Table ................................................................ 18
Add the Consistence Material to Mix Designs ......................................... 19
Create a Metered Feed Device on Batch Graphics ................................... 20
Operation of Auto-Consistence Control .................................................... 21
Interpolating Relative Power Targets for Auto-Consistence ......................... 22

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 Introduction

Topics in This Section

Purpose
Audience
Revision Summary

Purpose
This guide explains how to set up and use the Auto-Consistence feature so
that a target consistence (slump, flow, vebe, or compactibility) is achieved in
the mixer before the truck is charged.

Audience
This guide is intended to be used by Command Alkon installation and service
personnel, as well as plant personnel authorized to prepare and run batches.

Revision Summary
CMDbatch
Date Version Revision
Jun. 12, 2006 1.05 Document created.
Jul. 25, 2006 1.05 • Document revised to include Eagle hardware
requirements and mixer setup.
• Also revised information on metered feed and feed
sequence.
Mar. 8, 2007 1.06 Improved Notes, Tips, Cautions, and Warnings with
better icons and formatting.
Sept. 4, 2007 1.06 Minor formatting changes.
Sept. 11, 2007 1.06 Changed second screen in step 2 of the “Configuring
a Consistence Material” section to show Temper
twice - once for Target Calcs and once for Weight
Calcs.
Dec. 28, 2007 1.06.288f Updated screen example of Mixers form to show the
Data Collection Type field.
Oct. 14, 2008 1.06 Updated the version number on the title page to
show V1.06 & Later.
Dec. 16, 2008 1.7.5.2 Revised the manual per a review by Command Alkon
Manufacturing and QA personnel. This involved
removing thecreating a cross-referencing the
External Serial Device Setup manual instead.
Jul. 17, 2015 1.9.0.0 Updated cover/title page.

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 Aug. 17, 2016 2016.4.0 Added documentation covering Auto-Consistence
control for more than one material.
Dec. 21, 2016 2017.1.0 Updated cover/title page.

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 Auto-Consistence Control

Auto-Consistence Control is the automatic introduction of water during the

concrete mixing process so that the target consistence (slump, flow, vebe, or
compactibility) is met before the truck is charged. Water is slowly added to
the mixer during the mixing process until the desired consistence is reached.
Automatic consistence control can reduce truck in-yard time and improve the
batch-to-batch uniformity of the finished product.
The following diagram gives a general idea of how Auto-Consistence Control
works.
Basic Plant Layout for Auto-Consistence Control

Mixer power consumption (in kilowatts) is used as an indicator of mix

consistence. Low-slump (“stiff”) mixes require more power consumption to
mix than high-slump mixes. COMMANDbatch converts the relative power (in
kilowatts) consumed by the mixer into a consistence value or “actual” reading
that is used for enabling/disabling the introduction of the water.

See Also:
Mixer / E-Z CAL Requirements for Auto-Consistence
COMMANDbatch Setups for Auto-Consistence
Creating a Consistence Calibration Record
Configuring a Consistence Material
Creating a Consistence Controlled Metered Feed
Defining the Consistence Feed Sequence (Optional)

330 4/19/18
 Configuring System Parameters
Setting up a Mixer for Auto-Consistence
Creating Consistence Control Groups
Consistence Setpoints Table
Add the Consistence Material to Mix Designs
Create a Metered Feed Device on Batch Graphics
Operation of Auto-Consistence Control
Interpolating Relative Power Targets for Auto-Consistence

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 Mixer / E-Z CAL Requirements for Auto-Consistence
All mixer equipment is to be provided by others.
The mixer motor controls must be equipped with a power (Watt) transducer
capable of providing a 0-10V DC proportional to mixer power consumption.
Specific details are outside the scope of this document, but the equipment
must include:
• The transducer unit.
• Current transformers (depends on model and capacity of transducer).
• Voltage transformers (depends on model and capacity of transducer).
• Safety shorting bars for current transducers.
• Any fuses or disconnects mandated by electrical codes and industry
standards.
• Internal wiring.
• Shielded cable to E-Z CAL Manual Station.
Connect the 0-10V signal from the power (Watt) transducer to a spare analog
input on the E-Z CAL Manual Station using standard techniques.
Calibrate the E-Z CAL display to read 0.0% when the mixer is running empty
and 100.0% when the mixer motors are running at rated power or at some
arbitrary point considered the maximum usable value.

Note: The E-Z CAL display will not be re-zeroed from batch to batch to
compensate for expected variations in “empty” power rating.
This is a feature of the batching software only.

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 COMMANDbatch Setups for Auto-Consistence
Notes: • It is assumed that all hardware has been connected and that IO
points have been assigned.
• If a Serial Load Meter will be used, see Serial Device Setup for
configuration instructions.

Topics in This Section

Creating a Consistence Calibration Record
Configuring a Consistence Material
Creating a Consistence Controlled Metered Feed
Defining the Consistence Feed Sequence (Optional)
Configuring System Parameters
Setting up a Mixer for Auto-Consistence
Creating Consistence Control Groups
Consistence Setpoints Table
Add the Consistence Material to Mix Designs
Create a Metered Feed Device on Batch Graphics

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 Creating a Consistence Calibration Record
1. Open the Calibrations form and create a new calibration record.

2. In the Display Source field, select the manual station.

3. In the Channel Number field, enter the display number to be used
on the E-Z CAL panel (example: 12).
4. In the Channel Name field, enter a name for the E-Z CAL display
(example: CHANNEL1.12).
5. In the Type field, select “Generic”.
6. In the Grad Size field on the Calibrations tab, enter the grad size
for the load meter (example: 0.01).
7. In the Max Capacity field, enter 100. In the Max Capacity unit
field, select “%” or “W”.
The following screen example shows the calibration record for a serial
load meter.
Generic Calibration Record

8. Save your data. You will be prompted to restart the RTC now or
later. Click Restart Now.

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 Configuring a Consistence Material
1. On the Materials form:

a) On Plants tab, enter values for - Tol % and + Tol %. (These are the
only tolerance values that are needed.)
b) From the Plants tab, click the More >>> button and set the Batch
Calculation Type and Tolerance Calculation Type fields to “Net (ignore
previous batching errors)”. Save your changes.
Consistence Material Tolerances

c) On the Groups tab, assign the consistence material to the temper

weights group if consistence water and manual (temper) water will be
printed on the ticket.

Tip!
If a temper weights group does not exist, right click on the Group
field of the Groups tab and select “Add”. A blank Item Groups
form appears so you can create the new group.

Consistence Material Assigned to Temper Weights Group

2. Save your changes.

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 Creating a Consistence Controlled Metered Feed
Create a metered feed record for the load meter’s calibration input channel.

1. Open the Metered Feeds form and create a new record.

2. In the Material field, select the consistence material (example:

Temper).
3. In the Goes To field, select the appropriate mixer.
4. In the Meter Source field, select the calibration record created in
the Creating a Consistence Calibration Record section.
5. Make sure the MMM Enabled option on the Control tab is
unchecked. (MMM stands for Manual Material Monitor, a process
that records the amounts of manually fed materials.)
6. On the IO tab, select the output IO to be used for temper feed.
7. If necessary, make adjustments to the preact entries on the Feed
tab.
Adjusting preact values allows consistence control to close the output
earlier (positive preact) or later (negative preact) to allow for coast time.
Entering a non-zero value in the Preact Override field causes the system
calculated default preact to be overridden (normally a value of .01 is
entered in this field to disable preact controls).
8. Save your data. You will be prompted to restart the RTC now or
later. Click Restart Now.
The Metered Feeds form should now look something like the following
screen example.

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 Defining the Consistence Feed Sequence (Optional)
By default, consistence control starts when the Aggregate and Cement scales
are both finished, but this can be changed.

To cause consistence control to start earlier:

1. Check the Disable Auto Sequence option on the Options tab of the
Sequence Steps form then define the Start condition.

2. Define the mixer and the consistence metered device in the

sequence and ensure that their Multi-Batch settings on the
Sequences form are the same.

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 Configuring System Parameters
1. Open the System Parameters form and select the type of
consistence in the Type field (one of the following):

Compactibility
Flow
Slump
Vebe
2. In the field just right of the Design field, select the unit for the
consistence type. As explained in the following table, the unit
dropdown list is limited to units allowed for the selected
consistence type.

Type Unit(s) Allowed

Slump cm, mm, or in
Flow cm or mm
Vebe sec
Compactibility C
Note: “C” must be set up on the Units form
as a place holder since the Consistence Type
unit field cannot be left blank.

The form should now look something like the following screen example.
System Parameters Setup

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 Setting up a Mixer for Auto-Consistence
1. Open the Mixers form and select the appropriate mixer record.

2. On the Control tab:

• In the Data Collection Type field, select “Add Material (Temper)”.
• In the Temper Source field, select the Channel # for the Temper material.
• In the Temper Material field, select the consistence material.
Selecting Consistence Material on Mixers Form

Note: Auto-Consistence Control is enabled whenever the Mixer Temper

material matches the consistence material in the mix being batched.

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 Creating Consistence Control Groups
On the Consistence Control Groups form, you can create Consistence Control
Groups that can be assigned to several mix designs that have similar
consistence requirements. You can create more than one control group.
Within each Consistence Control Group, you can create more than one Mixer/
Temper Material record on the Setpoint Group tab. This allows Auto
Consistence to be applied to more than one material.

To create a Consistence Control Group and assign material(s) to

mixers:

1. Enter a Control Code (example: Normal).

2. Enter a Description of the control code.

Note: The Consistence Type field is read-only and defaults to the Type
selected on the System Parameters form.

3. In the Material field, select the consistence material (typically the

TEMPER material).
4. Select the Consistence Unit (choices depend on the Consistence
Type).
5. On the Setpoint Group tab, select the mixer(s) to be controlled for
consistence and assign a material to the mixer(s).

Note: You cannot assign the same material to more than one mixer. If
you try, a warning message is displayed.

6. Save your changes.

Example: Two materials under Auto-Consistence control

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 7. From the Consistence Control Groups form, click on the
Consistence Setpoints button to pull up the Consistence Setpoints
Form so you can enter consistence and mixer relative power
values for the smallest and the largest batch sizes.

Note: The system uses these entries to determine mixer relative power
targets for batch sizes and target consistencies that fall
somewhere between the entries in the Setpoints table.

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 Consistence Setpoints Table
From the Consistence Control Groups form, select a control group record and
click the “Consistence Setpoints” button to open the Consistence Setpoints
form.
On the Consistence Setpoints form, create at least four entries that represent
all combinations of high/low consistence for large/small batch sizes. This
allows the system to use linear interpolation while batching to determine
mixer relative power targets for batch sizes and target consistencies that fall
somewhere between the entries in the setpoints table.
Of course, if exact matches are found for the batch size and consistence
target, the corresponding mixer relative power entry is used without the need
for interpolation.

Example: Batch Size and Consistence with Matches in Setpoints Table

Batch Size = 1.0
Target Consistence = 20.00
Because there are entries in the setpoints table that exactly match batch size
1.0 and target consistence 20.00, COMMANDbatch uses 65.0 as the target
relative power without interpolation.
Setpoints Table

Tip!
While a batch is in progress, you can open Discharge Diagnostics to
see a graphical representation of mixer relative power usage and
mixer states for the duration of the mixer cycle. To do this, right
click on the consistence metered feed device on the Batch Graphics
form and select “Discharge Diagnostics”.

See Also:
Interpolating Relative Power Targets for Auto-Consistence

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 Add the Consistence Material to Mix Designs
1. Add the consistence material to the appropriate mix designs as a
percentage or absolute amount of the design water. The following
example shows TEMPER consistence material entered as 50
percent of the total design water.
Consistence Material as 50 Percent of Design Water

2. Click on the Qualities tab and select a control group in the

Consistence Group field.
Selecting a Consistence Control Group

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 Create a Metered Feed Device on Batch Graphics
On the Batch Graphics form, create a metered feed device object named
“Consist” and position it next to the Mixer and Temper device objects.
If a Temper device object does not exist, create it, making sure to set the
Meter Source to the Channel # for the Temper counter.
(See the Batch Graphics online help for details about adding device objects.)

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 Operation of Auto-Consistence Control
Let’s say that TEMPER (the consistence material) is set up in the mix design as
25 percent of the total design water. If WATER1 is the regular water and the
total water needed is 60 gallons, the individual targets are 45 gallons for
WATER1 and 15 gallons for TEMPER (assuming no moisture compensation).
The 45 gallons of WATER1 is added as soon as materials are loaded into the
mixer then TEMPER is added until the relative power target for the batch is
achieved, or the 15 gallon target for TEMPER is reached.
Let’s say that the target consistency is 110 mm and our batch size is 1.00.
COMMANDbatch uses the Consistence Setpoints Table to determine the
relative power target needed to achieve the target consistency for this mix
and batch size.
Setpoints Table

Using the sample setpoints table above, COMMANDbatch looked for a relative
power value for our 1.00 batch size and 110 mm target consistency. No exact
match was found, so the system looked for high and low consistence values
for the 1.00 batch size.
The system found a low consistence value of 20 and a high value of 200 for
the 1.00 batch size. Because our consistence target of 110 mm is exactly
halfway between the low value of 20 and the high value of 200, the system
interpolated the relative power target to be 50 (approximately halfway
between 65 and 36).
If our target consistence had been different, or if there had been no entries in
the Setpoints table for our batch size, calculations would have been a little
more complex but the same in principle. (See Interpolating Relative Power
Targets for Auto-Consistence for more information.)

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 Interpolating Relative Power Targets for Auto-
Consistence
This section provides specific examples of how the system interpolates
relative power targets. For these examples, the following setpoints table is
referenced.
Setpoints Table

Example: Batch Size and Consistence with Matches in Setpoints Table

Batch Size = 1.0
Target Consistence = 20.00
Because there are entries in the setpoints table that exactly match batch size
1.0 and target consistence 20.00, COMMANDbatch uses 65.0 as the target
relative power without interpolation.

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 Example: Batch Size Matches but Consistence Must Be Interpolated
Batch Size = 1.0
Target Consistence = 45.00
There is no target consistence entry of 45.0 in the setpoints table for batch
size 1.0. However, consistence values above and below the target consistence
have been recorded in the table for batch size 1.0. So COMMANDbatch uses
linear interpolation to calculate the target relative power between the two
recorded values.
As indicated in the following linear graph, the (x, y) points (200, 36) and (20,
65) are used to interpolate a relative power target for the target consistence
of 45.

Using the following formula and x and y values, COMMANDbatch interpolates

a relative power target of 60.98 for a batch size of 1.0 and a target
consistence of 45.

4/19/18 347
348 4/19/18
 Example: Batch Size and Consistence Must Be Interpolated
Batch Size = 4.0
Target Consistence = 45.00
The setpoints table contains no entries for batch size 4.0 and target
consistence 45.00, so COMMANDbatch finds the closest lower and higher
batch sizes that have consistence entries above and below target consistence
45.00.
In this case, batch sizes 1.0 and 6.0 are used, along with their respective high
and low consistence and relative power values. The following linear graph
describes this example best.

The imaginary line in the above graph is 4/6th of the way between the points
of the two lines as follows:
65 + (85 - 65) 4/6 = 78.3 or point (20,78.3)
36 + (48 - 36) 4/6 = 44 or point (200,48)
COMMANDbatch uses these interpolated values and the formula described in
the previous example to calculate the relative power target.

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