Parts of a Cement Mixer – Labeled Mixer Diagram

All 13 parts on the diagram

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Drum 3

Drum The drum turns to mix what is inside. Its upper and lower halves are bolted together round the middle.
Drum opening Materials go in here, and the mix is tipped out here. Also called the drum mouth.
Mixing blades The blades are bolted inside the drum. They turn with it and stir the mix.

Stand and handle 4

Stand The stand carries the drum off the ground and lets it tip.
Wheels The mixer is moved on them only when empty and switched off.
Handle Tilts the drum to fill, mix or empty it. It also locks the drum at the angle chosen.
Axle Carries a wheel at each end. A short axle on the wheel bracket.

Motor and drive 6

Motor cover A cover over the motor, the belt and the pulleys. The mixer is unplugged before it comes off.
On/off switch The switch on the motor cover. It is set to off before the mixer is plugged in.
Pinion A small gear on the pinion shaft. It meshes with the toothed ring round the drum and turns it.
Motor An electric motor on this mixer. Other mixers of the same kind have a gasoline engine.
Pulleys The small motor pulley drives the large drum pulley through the belt. That makes the drum turn far more slowly than the motor.
Drive belt A belt round the motor pulley and the drum pulley. It carries the motor's turning to the pinion shaft.

How this list was compiled: Part names checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only when two sources use it. (1) An importer's owner's manuals for two portable electric cement mixers, full text at https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7037518 and https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7037845 (upper and lower drum, drum opening, mixer blades, pinion shaft, drum pulley and motor pulley, V-belt, motor, motor cover, stand, leg, wheels, wheel bracket axle, control handle, switch). (2) A second maker's operator's manual for a portable tip-up mixer, full text at https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7387226 (mixing drum, drum mouth, stand, frame, motor, motor cover, drive belt, handle, on/off buttons, electric or petrol engine). (3) Wikipedia, Concrete mixer, text only (a revolving drum, a tiltable conical drum with blades, portable concrete mixers, unloading by tilting the drum). (4) War Department technical manual TM 5-1074 for a towed concrete mixer (1943, a US government work), full text at https://archive.org/details/TM5-1074 (drum, blades, drum ring gear, drum drive pinion, drive belts, pulleys, axles, wheels, opening into the mixing drum). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry, a composite of no one maker or model. Licence: own work

How it works

A portable cement mixer is a drum that turns on a stand and tips to empty. This drawing names its parts, first on the whole mixer with the drum cut open, then under the motor cover.

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Two drawings

Row 1 is the mixer from the side with the drum tipped back. A window is cut in the drum to show the mixing blades. Numbers 1 to 6 are the big parts. Row 2 is what the motor cover hides, seen end-on: the motor, the two pulleys and the drive belt.

How the drum is turned

The motor turns the small pulley. The drive belt (13) turns the large pulley, which sits on the pinion shaft. The pinion (9) meshes with the toothed ring round the drum, so the drum turns, far more slowly than the motor.

Cement mixer and concrete mixer are two names for the same machine.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a cement mixer called?

The drum, with its opening and the mixing blades inside; the stand, wheels and axle; the handle that tilts the drum; and the drive under the motor cover: the motor, two pulleys, a drive belt and the pinion that turns the drum.

What turns the drum on a cement mixer?

The motor turns a small pulley. A belt carries that to a large pulley on the pinion shaft, and the pinion, a small gear, turns the toothed ring round the drum. The drum turns much more slowly than the motor.

What are the blades inside a cement mixer for?

The blades are bolted to the inside of the drum and turn with it. As the drum revolves they stir the cement, sand or gravel and water together.

Is a cement mixer the same as a concrete mixer?

Yes. Both names are used for the machine that combines cement, an aggregate such as sand or gravel, and water to make concrete. Cement is only one of the ingredients, so concrete mixer is the more exact name.