Brick Manufacturers: How are UK Bricks Made?
How UK Bricks are Made
All over the world, millions of bricks are manufactured for construction projects, engineering projects and plenty of other purposes. In the UK specifically, brick manufacturing presents numerous opportunities for commercial buildings, where architects can create all sorts of diverse, aesthetically pleasing and versatile structures with stunning brickwork.
However, have you ever wondered how UK bricks are produced in large quantities, to such a high standard? Have you ever taken a second to ponder the question, “how are bricks made?”
Brick manufacturing and production have changed dramatically over the years, and UK bricks are now made using a specific process. That’s what Modular Clay Products’ guide will focus on: explaining how typical kiln-fired facing bricks are made.
What are Bricks Made of?
The main ingredient in most UK bricks is clay. This has been the case for many thousands of years, where clay bricks have lived up to their namesake. The composition and location of the clay can impact the final brick colour, and you’d be surprised at how many different types of clay materials there are to differentiate from.
One of the largest components of bricks is the addition of sand, while other additives like iron oxide, magnesia and lime are also added to give bricks some other beneficial physical and aesthetic benefits. This is why there are numerous classifications for types of bricks based on their raw materials, hence why we have anything from sand lime bricks to red clay engineering bricks.
The other crucial brick ingredient is water, which helps to bind all the materials together into a consistent texture, colour and appearance.
Now that we know what bricks are made of, it’s important to understand how all of those materials are added together during the brick making process, and what processes are involved.
Brick Manufacturing Process
It’s important to note that not every single brick will be manufactured in the same way and order that you see below. This is simply a short summary of what brick manufacturers in the UK would do for the vast majority of fired bricks, but some manufacturing companies may produce bricks slightly differently.
Crushing and Grinding
To begin with, the raw clay material is ground using a jaw crushing machine, which turns the material into tiny particles. This is where other materials are added, depending on the brick type that’s being created. The large pieces of clay are then separated for further crushing or moved onto the next stage.
Forming
There are several brick forming processes that can be used at this stage, the choice of which depends on the brick manufacturer. The most common type is the brick extrusion process (otherwise known as wire cutting) as this provides the best value for money when producing bricks at such magnitude, but there are others.
- Brick extruding – once crushed, the clay is fed into a pug mill, folded together and then fed into an extruder. The air is then removed using a vacuum and the material is then compacted. There’s a die in the machine which is brick-shaped, which the material is then pushed through. Following this, sections are then cut with saws or wires.
- Brick moulding – the wet clay is shaped by moulds (in the case of handmade bricks, they will be hand-thrown). With large-scale brick manufacturing, hydraulic press machines will compact the clay into the desired shape.
- Brick pressing – similarly to the brick moulding process, there’s additional force during brick pressing, which is generally reserved for thicker clay materials. The clay mix usually has less water which, when pressed, leads to sharper brick edges. A steel tool compacts the bricks, which often leads to brick frogs (indents) and a slightly sharper outline.
Drying
While some bricks may occasionally be coated with sand before being dried, this is arguably the most crucial step. All excess moisture needs to be removed, otherwise, it’ll evaporate too quickly during the firing process and cause the brick to crack.
Tunnel dryers or chamber dryers are two common types of machinery used during this process.
Firing
The next step is the brick firing process, where the same container they’re dried in will be put into a kiln which is where the bricks will be fired.
Tunnel kilns are more frequently used, where they’re pushed through a long, custom-built tunnel that accommodates large quantities of bricks.
Finally, the bricks are cooled and then unloaded. This is where brick suppliers like Modular Clay Products come into play, as we’ll arrange for distribution of the bricks to your chosen site at a convenient time and date.