When browsing the market for a new gabion machine, you will see the phrase "fully automatic" plastered everywhere. It sounds perfect: press a button, walk away, and come back to neatly packed gabion boxes.
However, experienced factory managers know that in heavy wire mesh manufacturing, "fully automatic" is a relative term. While the weaving, tensioning, cutting, and edge-winding processes are indeed controlled by advanced PLCs, a gabion production line still requires human intelligence and physical intervention to handle logistics, wire spool loading, and quality control.
At Candid Equipments, we believe in complete transparency. To help you calculate your true ROI and labor costs, here is an honest breakdown of the manpower truly required to run a complete gabion production line smoothly, along with the optimal workflow.
For a standard, modern gabion production line (incorporating the main weaving machine, tension device, cutting machine, and hydraulic packing press), the optimal setup requires three operators per shift.
Attempting to run the line with fewer people will result in machine downtime whenever wire runs out or a roll needs packing.
Role: Operates the main control console, oversees the CNC/PLC settings, and monitors the primary weaving zone.
Key Tasks:
Setting mesh length and width parameters on the touchscreen.
Monitoring the twist zone to ensure the mesh size remains perfectly symmetrical (no lopsided hexagons).
Pausing the machine immediately if a wire snaps or a tangle occurs in the twisting pinions.
Time Allocation: 80% monitoring and adjusting, 20% troubleshooting.
Role: Manages the payoff area. Heavy-duty gabion lines consume miles of thick galvanized steel wire rapidly. This operator ensures the machine never starves.
Key Tasks:
Using a forklift or overhead crane to load heavy wire spools onto the payoff stands.
Threading new wires into the tensioners and welding the ends of the old wire to the new wire to ensure continuous feeding without re-threading the whole machine.
Monitoring wire tension to prevent uneven pulling.
Time Allocation: 60% physical loading/welding, 40% monitoring tension.
Role: Manages the end of the line where the finished gabion mesh exits the cutting machine.
Key Tasks:
Guiding the cut sheets into the hydraulic packing press.
Operating the compressor to flatten the gabion bundles for shipping.
Strapping the final bundles, attaching labels, and using a forklift to move finished pallets to the storage zone.
Time Allocation: 90% physical logistics and packing, 10% final visual quality check.
The secret to maximizing output is not running the machine faster; it's synchronizing your operators so the machine never has to stop.
Pre-Staging: While the machine is running, Operator 2 (Wire Feeder) must always have the next batch of wire spools staged and ready next to the payoff stands.
The "Hot Swap": When a wire spool is running low, Operator 1 slows the machine down (but does not stop it). Operator 2 quickly butt-welds the new wire to the tail of the old wire.
Seamless Hand-off: As the mesh hits the automated cutter, Operator 3 is already positioned to pull the cut sheet onto the packing table, ensuring the exit path is clear for the next sheet before the machine finishes weaving it.
While you cannot eliminate labor entirely, you can invest in machinery designed to reduce operator fatigue and minimize interventions.
At Candid Equipments, our heavy-duty gabion lines are engineered with the operator in mind:
Large Capacity Payoff Systems: Designed to hold massive continuous wire coils, drastically reducing the frequency of spool changes for Operator 2.
Intuitive HMI Touchscreens: Our PLC interfaces are visual and easy to learn, meaning you don't need a highly paid software engineer to be Operator 1.
Precision Auto-Cutters: Eliminates the need for manual shearing at the end of the line, saving Operator 3 hours of back-breaking work.
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