休斯顿太空人队，亚特兰大勇士队以及其他棒球和垒球场的专业内场式供应商需要定制的哈巴狗磨坊来确保一致的产品，因此他去了附近的制造商。

田纳西州哥伦比亚南部运动场的所有者比尔·马贝特（Bill Marbet）Pugmill Systems, also in Columbia, so he could deliver the same mix of clay and sand needed for each field—whether it’s major league, minor league, college, high school or a recreation park—every time he dispatches a truck.

“We have a formula we will put into the pug mill,” Marbet says. “We can keep a record of each customer and deliver the same thing, year after year.”

他还希望能够为每个客户调整粘土和沙子的混合物。他去了普格米尔系统合作伙伴的杜安·艾伦（Duane Allen）和约翰·迪·汤普森（John Dee Thompson），看看他们能做什么。他概述了他的需求和详细的规格，普格米尔的设计师开始工作，并为他们的标准进行了修改，以满足Marbet的需求。然后，制造商上班了。

普格米尔总裁艾伦说，定制的单元比大多数可适合南部运动场拖车的便携式哈巴狗工厂短。

The machine provides a consistent product mix, thanks to a computer-controlled belt scale system that automatically adjusts the amounts of clay and sand added to the mix to meet the specifications for each buyer, he said.

Mounted on a trailer, the system includes a generator to power the bins, the pug mill and two conveyor sets—to the mixer and for output.

艾伦说：“这确实是一台最先进的机器。”“它可以有效地混合并密切控制这两种成分，使混合器中的成分称重。”

Engineers redesigned the standard feed hoppers to get proper material feed, especially the clay, he said.

该系统以每小时100吨（TPH）的运行，体育6厘米码和10厘米饲料箱的运行量，而不是普通的便携式挂爪厂，通常在串联12厘米或更大的箱子中配置普格米尔副总裁汤普森说。

“Each feeder bin has a variable-speed discharge belt and an adjustable gate,” Thompson said. “This allows the operator to get the best settings for consistent discharge.”

The computer that monitors output and automatically adjusts the mix replaces the traditional fixed rate of operation, he said.

The steel bins, manufactured on site, are lined with ultrahigh-molecular-weight (UHMW) polyethylene to improve feed-rate consistency in materials, such as clay, that tend to clog the discharge opening.

早期运行后，设计师将UHMW衬里添加到南部运动场系统的哈巴狗磨坊中，显示粘土在磨机和轴壁上结合并结合，从而阻止了输出。零件经理贾里德·艾伦（Jared Allen）说，这是每年对几个单元进行的。

The new system also got 18-wheeler-style mud flaps—added to each side, where the mix leaves the pug mill for the conveyor belt—to prevent spillage and loss of material. The flaps can be raised to provide access to the pug mill and lowered to contain the soil mix.

帕格磨刀在现场制作，并带有Nihard Steel铸造的桨，以抵抗磨损。汤普森说，竖井上的桨是由内部设计的模具从现场生产的。

该公司将拖车制造和材料较大的筒仓外包。

Pugmill Systems is one of a handful out of the approximately 40 pug-mill manufacturers in the U.S. that sell a complete system, Thompson said. His company’s units are “all over [the U.S.]” and in countries ranging from Chile to Japan, he said.

Thompson does not know of another company that makes a pug mill for athletic field dirt. Marbet, who started the dirt mix business in 1996, after helping maintain his sons’ Little League baseball fields, custom-blends the clay-loam soil mix to meet different teams’ needs, depending on their location. His clay-and-sand mine in northern Alabama supplies the business, which now has more than 5,000 clients. Most are situated in the South and Midwest.

Customizing the Baseball Infield Mix

The new pug mill, capable of thoroughly blending materials, is an improvement on the system of tilling a mix from a loader and bucket or blending clay and sand in a rotary drum, Marbet said. He wanted to be able to customize the mix because teams in a northern climate want a mix with more sand than teams in the South.

A custom mix can aid in percolation and also can act as a reservoir for moisture during a game. “It helps the infield soil keep its elasticity” in what Marbet calls a “cork board” effect. Dan Bergstrom, head groundskeeper for the Houston Astros for the past 13 seasons, is well acquainted with Southern Athletic Fields’ dirt mixes, having used the product before his move to Houston.

“I use Southern Athletic Fields because their products are exceptional, and the knowledge and customer service from their team is unmatched,” he said.

Baseball “is a game of consistency, and we’re looking for the same dirt every time,” Bergstrom said. “They will deliver very consistent [product] every time the truck comes in.”

那辆卡车是一辆18轮，在每个春季都滚动，为主场揭幕战做好了准备。Bergstrom允许他的工作人员为本赛季做好准备。

Bergstrom指出，将领域保持状态“是一个持续的过程”，取代了玩家的防滑钉或风被捕获的污垢。