Category: Technology

Technology

The 2.5-Minute Monument

When the topic is continuous-flow production in the stone industry, it’s about moving more kitchens through a shop – not monuments.
And, putting automation and sandblasting in the same workflow doesn’t even sound possible, let alone efficient.
It’s a challenge taken on by Friedrich Goldmann GmbH & Co. KG of Mannheim, Germany, with a monument production shop. The longtime sandblasting-products manufacturer not only made the process work – it also brought speed into the equation.

Technology

Multi-Wire Saws Gains Ground

By Paul Daniel
 
  Unlike weapons of mass destruction (WMD), the proliferation of multi-diamond-wire (MDW) machines is completely verifiable.
  “Multi-wire sawing is still being developed and has yet to reach its full potential,” says Stephen Kelly, project engineer with Element Six (formerly De Beers Industrial Diamonds) at the group´s Market Support Centre in Shannon, Ireland.

Technology

Waterjets, More Than a Nice Slice

Waterjet manufacturers say they’re seeing a huge boom in the use of their equipment in the stone industry – and it’s not only because of the technology’s clean-cut image.

The initial attraction to waterjet – or, more-properly, abrasive-jet machining – is still the ability to make both straight and curved cuts down to microscopic size utilizing computer generated files and very little water. But, manufacturers cite there’s a deeper appeal: versatility.

Technology

Laser Survey 2005 On The Beam

Like to draw a crowd at a stone trade show? You can give away Hershey bars or hire a band, but the sure way to get a crowd – even in a massive event like Marmomacc in Verona – is to run a laser engraver on stone.

But, who’s behind all this great stuff?

Technology

Plain Talk on CNC, Part II

By Jerry Kidd
  
   Editor’s Note: Not long ago, the author – a technical representative for an Italian stone-machine manufacturer – received a detailed inquiry from a customer in Turkey concerning CNC machines. Several thousand words later, he’d written a response that reflected his lengthy experience in the field, with plenty of common-sense advice for anyone considering a CNC. What follows is the second of two parts on some personal and interesting observations on owning and running CNC equipment.

Technology

Estimating/Workflow Software

   Sure, it’s easy to quote a job. Just take a quick look at what someone wants, guess how much stone it needs, figure how many workers you’ll pay for so many hours, scratch something out on the back of whatever’s handy, and you’ll ….

Technology

Plain Talk on CNC, Part I

By Jerry Kidd
  
   Editor’s Note: Not long ago, the author – a technical representative for an Italian stone-machine manufacturer – received a detailed inquiry from a customer in Turkey concerning CNC machines. Several thousand words later, he’d written a response that reflected his lengthy experience in the field, with plenty of common-sense advice for anyone considering a CNC. What follows is the first of two parts on some personal and interesting observations on owning and running CNC equipment.