Patent ID: 6974317

Claim:
An apparatus for manufacturing lightweight concrete composite blocks, comprising: a form defining a desired shape that holds a volume of composite; a form loading station, comprising: a cap removal/replacement assembly that removes and replaces a cap of the form, the cap removal/replacement assembly, comprising: a short lifting rail adapted to engage a short cap bracket of the form, a tall lifting rail adapted to engage a tall cap bracket of the form, a stabilizer bar connecting the short lifting rail and the tall lifting rail, and a lifting cylinder attached to the stabilizer bar, wherein the lifting cylinder moves between an engagement position and a raised position, and a screed assembly that receives composite and delivers the composite into a bottom assembly of the form; a form assembly station that facilitates assembly of the form; a station conveyor that conveys the form about the apparatus in a continuous loop; a curing oven, wherein the station conveyor conveys the composite-filled form from the form loading station through the curing oven, thereby curing the composite into a lightweight concrete composite block; and a block removal station that, upon delivery of the form from the curing oven via the station conveyor, removes the lightweight concrete composite block from the form.