Welcome to Mact Traning
Igniting the Future of Construction with GFRC
Are you interested in a GFRC course that is more than a simple training day on GFRC technique?
Who is this course for?
Enrol today and get these resources and special offers
MACt Mix Calculator
With our customised Mix Calculator, we do the guesswork for you. Simply enter the dimensions of your job and our calculator will calculate the rest for you, including the cost of materials, estimated labour, and profit margins.
MACt Academy Community
Gain access to our MACt online community of other GFRC artisans like you. Receive ongoing support for any projects you need to troubleshoot or any assistance you may require. The MACt team takes pride in providing the best on-going support.
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Advantages of GFRC
Lightweight Yet Strong
One of the most significant benefits of GFRC is that it is lighter than traditional concrete. This makes it easier to handle and transport, reducing construction costs. Despite being lightweight, it doesn't sacrifice strength, making it ideal for a variety of construction needs.
Design Flexibility
GFRC can be easily moulded into almost any shape and finished in different textures and colours. This flexibility is a big plus for architects and designers who want to create unique and intricate designs in their construction projects, opening up innovation possibilities.
Durability
GFRC is much tougher than regular concrete because the glass fibres mix into it and act like a strong network that holds everything together. This strength means that structures made from GFRC don't easily crack or break and can survive harsh weather conditions for many years.
Environment Friendly
GFRC is more eco-friendly than traditional concrete. It uses less cement and can incorporate recycled materials in its mix. Additionally, its production process is more energy-efficient. This step towards sustainable construction practices reduces the overall environmental impact.
Got any question?
Key Elements That May Affect Your Mix
Cement: No two cements are the same, they have different mineralogies and different particle sizes. Cements from the same kiln will have a different particle size depending on the date and time of year made. Basically, finer particle size will increase the surface area and the plasticiser demand.
• Finer particle size will increase thixotropy, the amount of flow when being agitated. A higher thixotropy produces much less flow when not agitated.
• Sand: The size of your sand has a huge effect on the flow of your GFRC, a coarse sand will have a better flow than a fine sand. If your sand is very fine, it could make your mix unusable and solid. A coarse sand will have a lower water demand than a fine sand, and a wet sand has trapped water on the surface compared with dried sand. Controlling your mix, you should always take into account the level of water in your sand. To do this either use dried sand or dry your sand before you weigh it out.
• Temperature: The hydration of cement gets faster with increasing
temperature, roughly halving the work time every 10°C rise.
• Therefore, if the cement gels at 2 hours at 20°C, it will gel at about 1 hour at 30°C and 30 mins at 40°C. Adding ice changes the mix temperature and slows the get down, so always check your water and powder temperature.
How Much Ice Do I Need To Add To MACt Premixed Products?
Amount of ice to add for any temperature. Always subtract the ice from your mix water.
10 kg of water with 50% ice would be 5kg water and 5 kg ice.
Note: If adding Ice, only add half your powder to the water/ice first to allow some of the ice to melt before adding the rest of the powder. Otherwise, your mix may gel prematurely.
What Is In The MACt Premix Bags
MACt Premix is a general 100+ MPa GFRC mix. It is constructed from very high whiteness Portland cement, a specific washed and dried white sand of optimum particle size. These are blended with the specialist polymers, hydration modifiers and super plasticisers at accurately controlled levels. It is a complete, professional grade GFRC mix. Coverage per bag -½ sqm @20mm thick.
What Are The Typical Levels To Add The Different Admixtures Into MACt Mixes?
Typical additional admixtures levels for a 20kg:
- Water: 2.78L–3.0L
- Plasticiser: 10g – 50g
- Fibres HD: 50g-300g
- Fibres Bundled: 400g-700g
- Retarder: 5g-20g
- Accelerator: 5g–20g
- Defoamer: 1g-3g
- Colour: up to 800g
*NOTE: All admixes will alter the way the mix behaves.
Can We Use An Additive To Make The Gfrc Even Lighter?
City Mix has developed a unique and economical technology that enables the recycling of large volumes of waste packaging and insulating foam (commonly “EPS”) into an extraordinarily lightweight and user-friendly material suitable for blending in a wide variety of concrete products. The patent-pending technology allows varying portions of the heavy sands and gravels common to cement-based mixtures to be replaced with ultra-lightweight City Mix material in order to reduce overall concrete product weight.
