Method for manufacturing a tile product

A method for manufacturing a landscaping tile product in a molding apparatus, the molding apparatus having a mold cavity, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a tile with a first side and a second side opposed from the first side, the second side forming a decorative side of the tile;
• providing a low or zero slump concrete mixture;
• at least partially filling the mold cavity with the low or zero slump concrete mixture;
• providing an adhesive to improve adhesion between first side of the tile and the concrete mixture;
• positioning the tile on the low or zero slump concrete mixture in the mold cavity with the first side of the tile facing and contacting the low or zero slump concrete mixture to form a tile and concrete mixture assembly;
• and
• after the concrete mixture can hold its own shape, removing the tile and concrete mixture assembly from the mold cavity.

A system for manufacturing a landscaping tile product, the landscaping tile product having a tile and a concrete base, said system comprising:

• a molding apparatus including a mold cavity;
• a concrete feedbox to dispense a low or zero slump concrete mixture into said mold cavity, said concrete feed box being movable across said mold cavity to distribute the low or zero slump concrete mixture across said mold cavity;
• a robot with a robotic arm to pick and place a tile in said mold cavity to contact the tile with the concrete mixture after the zero or low slump concrete mixture has been dispensed and distributed into said mold cavity to form a tile and concrete mixture assembly;
• and
• a takeaway conveyor to convey the tile and concrete mixture assembly from said molding apparatus after the tile and concrete mixture assembly has been removed from said molding apparatus.

A method for manufacturing a landscaping tile product in a molding apparatus, the molding apparatus having a mold cavity, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a tile with a first side and a second side opposed from the first side, the second side forming a decorative side of the tile;
• providing a low or zero slump concrete mixture;
• at least partially filling the mold cavity with the low or zero slump concrete mixture;
• applying (1) pressure to the low or zero slump concrete mixture at a first pressure and (2) vibration to the low or zero slump concrete mixture for a first period of time;
• after the step of applying (1) pressure and (2) vibration, positioning the tile on the low or zero slump concrete mixture in the mold cavity with the first side of the tile facing the concrete mixture to form a tile and concrete mixture assembly;
• applying (1) pressure to the tile at a second pressure less than said first pressure and (2) vibration to the molding apparatus after the tile is positioned on the concrete mixture while applying the pressure to the tile for a second period of time less than said first period of time;
• and
• after the concrete mixture can hold its own shape, removing the tile and concrete mixture assembly from the mold cavity.

A method for manufacturing a landscaping tile product from a tile and a concrete mixture base, in a molding apparatus using a robotic arm, the molding apparatus having a mold top and a mold base with a mold cavity, the molding apparatus configured to apply vibration to the concrete mixture and the tile and concrete mixture when in the mold cavity, and the mold top forming a mold press configured to apply pressure to the concrete mixture when placed in the mold cavity and to the tile when placed on the concrete mixture, and the robotic arm operable to place a tile on the concrete mixture when in the mold cavity, said method comprising the steps of:

• filling the mold cavity of the mold base with a low or zero slump concrete mixture;
• after said filling, applying pressure to the low or zero slump concrete mixture to a first pressure with the mold top to densify the low or zero slump concrete mixture and applying vibration to the low or zero slump concrete mixture for a first period of time;
• providing a tile with a first side and a second side opposed from the first side, the second side forming a decorative side of the tile;
• applying an adhesive to the first side of the tile to improve adhesion between the first side of the tile and the concrete mixture;
• after said applying pressure to the low or zero slump concrete mixture and vibration to the low or zero slump concrete mixture, raising the mold top and positioning the tile on the low or zero slump concrete mixture with the robotic arm wherein the first side of the tile contacts the low or zero slump concrete mixture to form a tile and concrete mixture assembly;
• removing the robotic arm from between the mold top and the mold base and simultaneously applying pressure to the tile and applying vibration to the mold apparatus after the tile has been placed in the mold cavity on the low or zero slump concrete mixture;
• removing the tile and concrete mixture assembly from the mold cavity;
• and
• after removing the tile and concrete mixture assembly from the mold cavity, allowing the concrete mixture to harden to obtain the landscaping tile product.