The stone blocks from the quarries are very massive. To cut them into products, they are first sawn by different types of equipment.
Primary sawing must make it possible to have slabs of different thicknesses to prepare the realisation of paving, worktops and wall coverings but also thick slabs to prepare the realisation of massive and urban elements.
It is the sawing machines that cut the sawn slices to the required dimensions.
So we do have two types of stone cutting. A primary one, which is sawing with the different types of saws, wire saws, disc saws and a secondary one with the numerically controlled cutting machines.
Primary sawing is the operation that takes place after the extraction of raw stone directly from the quarry. This action can be different depending on the nature of the materials of the desired final thicknesses and the type of sawing machine. Here we will see the difference between single-blade frame saws and diamond wire saws, especially horizontal ones.
The blade frames have a single blade with diamond segments. It is generally used to remove the first layers on blocks or to saw thick slabs for the funeral, construction and road industry. The single-blade frame is ideal for squaring marble blocks and for sawing blocks in thick layers using a single diamond blade. As diamond is used, cutting is done with non-stop water sprinkling to avoid overheating of the segments which would cause them to become detached and premature wear.
The block is usually placed on a trolley on a rail with wedges for levelling and plastered to ensure its stability. The stone block is driven and positioned under the blade. The blade performs a horizontal reciprocating movement thanks to a mechanism connected to a belt-driven by an electric motor. The lowering of the blade is adjustable, it is carried out in parallel on the two uprights thanks to a worm screw. In order to be able to saw thicknesses, the carriage is motorized on a rail and moves forward automatically.
In short, this type of sawing is economical, but at what price, because the quality is not necessarily there. All in all, single-blade saws are ideal for squaring blocks.
The diamond wire was invented by the company Diamant Boart at the end of the '70s for the extraction of marble in the Carrara quarry in Italy. In the '80s, in view of the interest encountered and the performance obtained, the wire was used to square blocks and saw thick slabs.
Two types of beads are made:
This patented innovation brings added value to various applications and provides many advantages: quality, economy, productivity, time-saving, flexibility and safety. The diamond wire saw for horizontal cutting of primary blocks works differently from a vertical cutting diamond wire saw.
Thibaut's innovation is based on a unique and patented system of automatic wedge insertion between slices.
This innovation makes block cutting 100% autonomous. Thibaut, therefore, called this machine the TSH, which brings new solutions in production planning and allows very important productivity gains. The sawing concept and Thibaut's patented automatic wedge insertion system make the process safer and more autonomous. The insertion of up to 264 wedges (depending on the model) is done automatically by a robot arm.
The TSH has been designed with operator safety as a primary concern.
Compared to a vertical diamond wire saw, the horizontal allows me to produce twice as many m² of sawn stone.
According to a client with a vertical diamond wire saw and a horizontal diamond wire saw.
In summary, horizontal sawing is economical, of high quality and safer for operators. All in all, horizontal diamond wire saws are the ideal machines for all types of applications: block cleaning, thick or thin blocks or even large slabs.
Sources : pierres-info.fr / Wikipédia / Thibaut
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