Robotics are everywhere we use them to cut our grass, vacuum our floors and even take videos of our roof. So it stands to reason that robotics can play a large part in building our home. Enter the MULE Masonry Unit Lift Enhancer, a modern way to help the mason who is laying the block that is our home or workplace. The idea is not to replace the mason but to help him by increasing productivity, promoting more consistency, decreasing cost per block and ultimately extending his career.

Trowel Trades Inc is excited to introduce the MULE (Material Unit Lift Enhancer), a lift-assist robot that is flexible, easy to setup, easy to use and completely operated by the craftsman on-site. The robot will be used by masons to improve health and safety, increase productivity and improve the overall work-life of masons. It is built to carry the weight of whatever it is lifting, while allowing the mason to interact with the block (or any material) naturally and effortlessly.

As a Hydro Mobile mast climbing work platform (MCWP) dealer, Trowel Trades has seen the benefits of technology applied to the ancient tool that is scaffolding. Scaffolding has not changed much in the thousands of years it has been used and except for the few years of where crank up style scaffold was new there is only system, frame and now MCWPs. The MULE Masonry Unit Lift Enhancer is a giant leap and the first time we have augmented the mason, a human, to lay block.

And just like MCWPs the MULE is not a replacement for but an enhancement to the construction process. A process which has seen a sharp decline in skilled labor. A process that cannot be completed by using an app. A process that is shunned by the millennials because its to hard. As with any construction material, larger unit sizes have higher expectations of square feet placed per day. One of the limiting factors to this concept is the ergonomic limits of the human, in this case the mason, who performs the same repetitive task day in and day out. Larger and heavier CMU are used in foundations, backup walls, split-faced exterior finishes and integrated with insulation for a complete interior/exterior wall system. In addition, CMU are often designed with higher solids in each unit for walls with fire ratings and higher seismic designs. Today, a typical 8x8x16 unit weighs about 30-35 lbs.

Construction is one of the most physically demanding careers and laying masonry is no exception. In order to protect craftsmen from injury and prolong their careers, the industry continues to innovate materials and methods.

The MULE is a great fit for the new generation. It make the work easier, requires the skill set most kids have to operate the systems and provides for faster realization of a completed task. MULE takes the heavy load away from the mason when laying CMU, stone or other heavy materials. The average mason lifts 4,000 to 10,000 lbs daily when laying CMU. That’s like lifting his pickup truck each day! With the MULE, this daily load will be reduced to approximately 150 pounds per day.

The MULE is a lift-assist robot operated by the mason to facilitate his craft. Once setup, it can reach over 22’ of wall, run on a 110v plug and can be up and running within minutes of arriving onsite. The mason controls the robot and individually grabs the CMU with the pneumatic end-effector. With the CMU in the MULE gripper, it is weightless and floats in the air. A mason can then move the block up, down and to the wall, with no weight or strain on his body. He can lift a 135 lb unit up over his shoulders and over rebar with the push of one finger, eliminating risk of injury. As the mason effortlessly moves the CMU to the final position, he presses a button to engage a proprietary and unique Set mode that allows the mason to automatically add some weight to the block allowing the mason to lightly set it naturally in the mortar bed.

A mason typically lifts 2.5 tons per day.

We know what an amazing product masonry is through real life examples. It has endured in buildings around the world for centuries. It has some of the industry’s best safety and lowest maintenance characteristics. With the emphasis on first costs, other less enduring products may be considered, sometimes without regard for durability or maintenance or even life expectancy. Regardless, masonry is facing increased competition as budgets are developed and value engineering seeks to lower the total construction cost. This needs to change. The MULE can help lower in-wall cost of masony.

Robots increase productivity and reduce installed cost per square foot for block. There have been countless studies to evaluate the impact of repetitive lifting of heavy weights. It is well known that lightweight materials can increase the productivity of CMU installations. When comparing the productivity of laying a 40-lb CMU to the same unit in a practically weightless condition, the productivity with the weightless should increase. Early studies and field test results have demonstrated a potential for 200% to 400% increased productivity. These gains are just the start. With MULE, new sizes of materials that take advantage of the 135- pound lift capability will further increase the square feet placed per day by masons. The ease of use of this robot is field validated. Advantages of greater productivity with less risk of injury will bring both tangible and intangible benefits, including cost savings, to each job.

Masonry Unit Lift Enhancer Specification Sheet