DEVELOPMENT OF A LABORATORIAL DIAMOND WIRE STONE CUTING MACHINE PROTOTYPE
Joel H. G. Antunes1; Carlos F. F. Monteiro1; João Mendonça Silva1; António Caetano Monteiro1
1 Universidade do Minho, Campus de Azurém, 4800-048 Guimarães, Portugal
doi:10.20906/CPS/COB-2015-2006
Resumo
Portugal is, after Italy, the largest stone exporter per capita in the world. In the first quarter of 2012 increased 28%, the largest increase considering the previous 5 years. In spite of European market contraction, this industry exported in 2012 more than 86.8 million that compare to 68 million in the same of 2011. In 2013 and 2014 exports of Portuguese natural stone continued to grow at a remarkable pace. When analyzing the main Portuguese natural stone importing countries, it should be noticed that among the top 30 there was no growth in only 4 destinations, and the other markets showed significant growth. Quality, beauty and reputation are the key attributes of Portuguese stones. They are products with high interest worldwide because of its natural properties, aesthetic and structural behavior. Recent technological developments in stone treatment from the quarry to final finish, demand high investments in new equipment and require more research in the domain. It seems clear however there is a need to better characterize the new cutting processes, in particular diamond wire cutting technique. This technique allows a wide variety of cutting operations, gives versatility, higher cutting speed, and an average reduction of cut thickness, and so with lower raw materials waste, very regular cutting stroke, resulting in a great surface finish. Diamond wire cutting is achieved by abrasion between stone and tool, a steel cable with diamond beads mounted, which is drawn by means of a system of pulleys. The approach has been empirical, justifying a systematic study of key parameters, not only to improve the operating conditions, but also to allow the development of more effective, robust and economical equipment. In this paper a diamond wire stone cutting machine prototype under development at UMinho in Portugal is described. A numerical controlled cutting lab machine is being built, to test the process parameters. The ultimate purpose is to be able to conduct controlled studies for optimization of cutting parameters
Palavras-chave: Stone cutting; Diamond wire; CNC; Testing machines