Each year, Stone World takes a look at the newest technological advances in the equipment, as well as tools and accessories (coming in February), used in stone production. From cutting large blocks to fabricating countertops, manufacturers are continually researching and developing new ways to devise products that will assist in these processes. The following is a look some of the latest new machinery that has been introduced to the sector.
Baca Systems
SawJet Cutting System
Baca Systems has introduced one of the most reliable, fastest and lowest-costing sawjet cutting systems to the stone industry. The Robo sawjet is a high-production dual-table sawjet that integrates both a high-pressure abrasive waterjet and 20 HP direct-drive saw. The product maximizes cutting time by doing the straight cuts and then switches to the precision waterjet for tight angles and curves. This allows for nesting parts close together, which will save upwards of 20% on material cost. Robo sawjet can produce a fully cut slab in approximately 12 to 30 minutes, including all radii, arcs and sink cut-outs. By reducing secondary processing, it can save up to 70% on labor costs. The Robo sawjet allows for maximizing profits in a sawing operation, while having the highest reliability, lowest operating cost and smallest footprint in the industry.
www.bacasystems.com
Beckart Environmental
Water Recycling System
Designed for 100% water recycling and closed-loop operation, the Hy-Pack system from Beckart Environmental filters influent from saws, polishers and CNC equipment down to below 1 micron, and routes the clean water back for use in the fabrication process. These fully automated systems include company-engineered PLC control panels, and fabricators deal directly with the manufacturer throughout the planning, installation and support phases of all critical equipment. They are available in 10 GPM to 200 GPM sizes, and all systems are backed by a factory-trained network of regional support technicians for years of reliable service.
www.beckart.com
Braxton-Bragg
Bridge Saw
The Husky 20 HP direct drive bridge saw by Rye Corp. is made in the U.S. and uses durable quality parts and components. The saw uses common parts for fast repairs. It is available in the event of a breakdown. It was designed for the cutting of granite for countertops as well as architectural cutting of stone.
The controls are easy to use and can be operated using the control panel and the wireless remote at the same time. Options include an 8-inch touch pad for programming dimensional cuts.
www.braxton-bragg.com
Co.Fi.Plast
Sawing/Cutting Machinery
Co.Fi.Plastand Wires Engineering designed and developed a new generation of multi-wire cutting machines for slab thickness processing, the Expert-11. The innovative machine offers an avant-garde solution for the manufacturing of versatile combination of thin and thick slabs. Expert-11 model multi-wire machine loads a maximum of 11 diamond wires, with a useful cut of 40 inches (first to last wire), thus maximizing versatility. Expert-11 is equipped with a patented system for the positioning of removable spacers for the setting of the cut thickness from ¾ inchup to 6 inches, without removing any wheels.
Co.Fi.Plastdiamond wires for slab thickness applications are usually 7 mm in diameter and the manufacturing flexibility allows to offer different variations (36, 37 or 40 beads/meter) and diamond bead types (standard or customized), thus satisfying specific cutting needs. Thanks to the presence in the U.S. of an assembly center, Co.Fi.Plastis strongly active on site, offering technical support and guiding the customer in the selection of the best cutting parameters and diamond wire technology.
www.cofiplast.it
Gmm S.p.A.
CNC Stoneworking Center
The GL3 / GL5 CN2 automatic cutting center machine is designed for high production with up to 13 axis. With multi-blade cutting for dimensions from 140 to 2,000 mm, the central unit can perform inclined cut. Several features of the machine include:
• Independent tool wear control and compensation for each blade.
• Extreme precision cutting result due to the rotating top cutting unit — the material doesn’t need to be shifted or re-aligned.
• Automatic nesting of the cutting piece on board with defect track due to the use of an external camera — the cutting performance is guaranteed from the easy-to-use software and the Gmm patented vacuum installed on the central unit.
• Ability to load electronic cutting sheet.
• Performs automatically parallel cut, arcs and pieces shift by vacuum for allowing blade overruns.
• Compact cutting line solution when equipped with automatic loading device and roller belt feeding system.
• Large production result up to 480 square meters in eight hours.
www.gmm.it
Intermac America
CNC Stoneworking Center
Intermac America, a leading manufacturer of machinery for processing glass and stone, has introduced its latest evolution in CNC work centers, the Master 33. As the highest selling CNC machine in the world, Intermac will showcase the Master 33 and ICAM3D CAD/CAM, which takes you from concept to production in just a few clicks. They are designed for businesses looking to optimize production with a highly reliable machine that delivers an excellent quality to price ratio. With a useable bed size of 63 x 127 inches, the Master 33 is perfectly suited for most types of stone and glass fabrication, including countertops.
www.intermac.com
Kuka Robotics Corporation
Sawing/Cutting Machinery
The KR Quantec F series from Kuka Robotics can effortlessly handle payloads up to 300 kg with a maximum reach of 3,900 mm, making the KR Quantec F the strongest robot in its payload category. These robots are extremely robust, being dustproof and waterproof. These features make the KR Quantec F series the most reliable in the industry and require low maintenance, ensuring the lowest operating costs. The Kuka KR Quantec F series, coupled with the Baca Systems sawjet solution, emphasizes a small footprint for production floors and are easy use for fabricators in the stone industry.
www.kukarobotics.com
Lackmond Stone
Sawing/Cutting Machinery
The Achilli MBS/IG TS bridge saw, exclusively offered by Lackmond Stone, is designed with a touch screen and mobile bridge. It can fit blades from 14 to 20 inches, and is equipped with a three-phase, 15 HP motor. The MBS IG is engineered with a motorized head with variable speeds on three travel axis, X, Y and Z. It has a tilting and rotating work table, which features a hydraulic tilt of the table up to 85 degrees.
The saw is manufactured with a compact sturdy steel frame with ceramic coating to protect from slurry, debris, rust and corrosion. It also has e-chains to protect and guide moving cables. The MBS IG has a manual head tilt from 90 to 45 degrees and is equipped with a laser alignment device mounted on the cutting head to achieve effective cutting optimization. The profiling environment of the CNC control unit is easy to load and allows the operator to create and store shape sequences. Additionally, the product is equipped with a touch-screen control panel and is fitted with a remote control unit, connected to the electrical panel by cable. This enables quick head movement when the operator is working far from the control position.
www.lackmond.com
MK Diamond Products
Wet Cutting Tile/Stone Saws
MK Diamond Products’ MK-212 tile/stone saw series comes equipped with a powerful 2-horsepower (120 V) direct drive motor. The MK-212-4 saw has a 10-inch blade guard with the capacity to rip cut 36-inch material and diagonally cut 24-inch material. The MK-212 saw has a 12-inch blade guard and the capacity for a 72-inch length of cut and can diagonally cut 42-inch material. The affordable MK-212 series has many features usually found on high-end saws, including plunge cutting ability, an efficient water delivery system to suppress dust and cool the blade and a removable water manifold for easy cleaning. The cutting head is mounted on a roller-bearing carriage running on a stainless steel rail for superior accuracy. A fully adjustable spring-loaded cutting head allows for up-and-down plunge cuts. The MK-212 is manufactured in the U.S., utilizing a combination of heavy gauge steel and aluminum casting, making it the most durable, accurate and portable tile/stone saw on the market.
www.mkdiamond.com
omag S.p.A.
CNC Stoneworking Center
The Tower combines all the solutions developed by Omag throughout its extended experience in leading-edge technology machines, which allow the machine to have a maximum rigidity and “limitless” movement capability. Tower, despite moving in a robot-like manner, features a torsional rigidity that is 50% higher than traditional anthropomorphic systems.
Tower means no limits to any range of machining, according to Omag. It is designed and built so that it can be equipped and customized in order to perform any machining typical of smaller or bigger workshops.
The available size range makes it possible for customers to make the best possible choice for their specific machining needs, thus ensuring a perfectly targeted purchase. Nonetheless, the precision engineering also allows three-dimensional machining, low reliefs, inlays, kitchen countertops, arches, capitals and sculptural columns.
The 7-axis the machine moves on, combined with the 7 axis being the rotation of the working plane, allow every surface of the workpiece to be machined with no limits to the undercut.
www.omagspa.it
Park Industries
CNC Stoneworking Center
The Saber, by Park Industries, elevates the value of a CNC saw by coring holes, incremental routing, cutting radius curves, servo mitering and automatically cutting a variety of predefined shapes that can be dimensionally scaled. The Saber can be programmed at the machine, in the office, or can be run in manual mode. Park Industries exclusive iTEC interface’s intuitive touchscreen control allows operators with basic knowledge to easily run the machine.
The Saber’s monoblock design with hydraulic tilt table is an ideal cutting workstation. Match these capabilities with the Servo motor mitering’s automatic zero to 90-degree blade rotation and laser alignment to make any cut with ease. The VFD feature automatically adapts to changes in RPM requirements.
www.parkindustries.com
Pellegrini
Wire Saw
Decawire is a multi-wire saw suitable for high production of thin and thick slabs. This plant runs up to 10 wires to cut a wide range of thicknesses from 2 cm up to 10 cm with 10 wires.
High flexibility and different thickness configurations can be achieved in a short time by means of an innovative procedure — the tensioning flywheels can be manually spaced axially along the shaft without removing them, allowing mixed metric or imperial thicknesses in the same shot.
The plant is equipped with big diameter tensioning flywheels and may have either a motor drum or motor flywheels, as per Pellegrini consolidated patented system. The plant can be stationary with block trolleys or gantry type.
www.pellegrini.net
Regent Stone Products
Edging Machinery
The Master 3500 series stone router continues to set the standard for portable edge profilers. It is a two-speed machine (3,000 rpm and 6,000 rpm) that provides the optimum profiling and polishing parameters. When used in conjunction with the Marmoelettromeccanica router bits, it ensures the most cost-effective portable router program in the industry. The Master 3500 comes standard with the revolutionary Hydro Base, allowing the machine to easily glide on a film of water without scratching the surface of the stone. With the capability to profile slabs from 2to 10 cm thick, the Master 3500 will be a shop standard for years to come. Regent offers an in-house repair department for the master series routers and stocks the largest inventory of OEM parts this side of the Atlantic. A detailed parts breakdown is available and parts can be ordered online.
www.regentstoneproducts.net
Salem Stone
CNC Stoneworking Center
Salem Stone and Denver have teamed up to introduce a powerful line of machinery that includes bridge saws, CNC work centers and slab polishers. One of the CNC work centers is the Quota 3350. Equipped with three digital interpolated axes and featuring a powerful 10,2 kW (S6) air-cooled electro-spindle, this machine is specifically designed for outstanding life. All motion is powered by brushless motors with accuracy ensured by prismatic steel guide ways with four revolving ball pads and protected by bellows.
Thanks to its advanced ergonomics, Quota’s footprint ratio allows machining of 3250 x 1550 mm sheets in an extremely reduced space. The machine is driven by a CNC OSAI control unit with axis control digital technology, and run by a worldwide renowned user-friendly 2D and 3D (option) software interface.
www.salemdist.com/stone
Wilson Industrial Electric
Sawing/Cutting Machinery
The Wilson single-strand wire saw has become a front player in the wire sawing market with competitive pricing and increased sawing speeds over the competition. The saw comes in four sizes and can be built as a gantry or stationary style. With constant feedback from customers and constant changes that improve the performance, the company is striving for the best-performing wire saw on the market today.
www.wilsonsaws.com
