Abstract: Cellular lightweight concrete slabs are manufactured by cutting horizontally through a block of still plastic cellular concrete mass resting on a support. At each cut a single slice is separated from the lowermost portion of the block or the remainder thereof. After each completed cut the upper remainder of the block is elevated by means of a suction head, in order to expose the recently cut surfaces for a treatment, and then again deposited on top of the slice or slices already resting on the support. Rotary roller means are provided for contributing in the surface treatment.

Abstract: Cellular lightweight concrete slabs are manufactured by cutting a still plastic block of cellular concrete mass resting on a first support horizontally into slices which are then moved over one by one to a second support and piled in reversed order thereon, at least one of the two broadsides of each body slice being subjected to a treatment before being covered by the next transferred slice. The treatment prevents the body slices from cementing together during the subsequent steam-hardening process and may also improve the quality of the slabs when hardened. An apparatus for such manufacture features a movable suction head for transferring the body slices as well as associated means for cutting and treating said slices.

Abstract: A suction device for grasping and turning over generally parallelepipedic bodies has two suction faces for adhesion to each one of two adjoining surfaces of the body and is oscillatable relative to a carrier about a horizontal axis that is parallel to both said faces. Preferably the two suction faces are provided on a pair of separate but jointly oscillatable suction head members which are adjustable relative to each other.

Abstract: A load-lifting device comprises a generally horizontal frame to be lifted and a plurality of load-engaging carriers movable by means of actuators along said supporting frame in a direction, in which the carriers form a row. Every two adjacent carriers are interconnected by a group of actuators that is operable independently of all the other actuator groups, and only one of said interconnected carriers is connected to the frame by actuator means defining the position of all said interconnected carriers relative to the frame.