A stone-cutting machine, in which a free abrasive is provided, has several advantages with respect to equipment with diamond cutting tools.
Advantages and disadvantages of saws with a free abrasive
First of all, they are much cheaper, since the blade itself and the abrasive component have a low cost in comparison with diamond cutting blades. At the same time, such machines can be designed large enough to cut bulky stone blocks and slabs.
At the same time, if you try to process such blocks with diamond disks, this will entail significant additional costs. On the other hand, in situations where the speed of work is a determining factor, stone-cutting machines with free abrasive are inferior to equipment equipped with diamond blades. This is due to the slower cutting with free abrasive machines.
Types of stone-cutting equipment with a free abrasive
Currently, a stone-cutting machine with a free abrasive, equipped with three types of working tools, is on the market. Firstly, it is a disk canvas. Secondly, there are tape cloths. There is also equipment with wire cloths. Machines equipped with tape blades are divided into two types. There are those that are equipped with frame saws with the movement of the cutting tool forward and backward. The principle of operation of the machines is similar to a conventional hand saw. In addition, there is equipment with band saws equipped with a narrow band cutting tool that moves around the rollers in the vertical direction.
General principles of work
In all these three types of stone-cutting machines, a mixture of silicon carbide is sent to the blade or wire in the form of a suspension. It falls into the groove and, picked up by a moving cutting tool or wire, destroys the stone, gradually deepening the cut to the complete cutting of the stone. At the same time, it is appropriate to note that circular saws handle stone blocks very carefully. As a result of cutting with such machines, a flat and smooth surface of the material is obtained, often of a higher quality than after processing with a diamond blade. After processing the stone with band saws, wavy uneven planes often remain. The result of such machines depends on the width of the blade.
A wavy surface is obtained after cutting the stone with a hacksaw. However, if the cutting tool is long enough, the surface of the stone will turn out to be smooth and even. The most low-quality planes of the processed material are left by wire machines. This is due to the constant deviation of the wire after any slight lateral movement of the unit, leading the cutting element into translational-reciprocal motion.
Machine with straight blade and free abrasive
Such a stone-cutting machine is much easier to manufacture than a disk one. In addition, much less dirt remains after work. With this design, there are practically no restrictions on the size of the cutting tool. There are even amateurs who make a stone-cutting machine with their own hands using 180 cm long and about 150 mm wide blades in its construction. It should be borne in mind that a thin cloth vibrates strongly, so it is recommended to strengthen it with longitudinal battens of wood. Therefore, in the manufacture of such equipment by our own efforts, you will need a detailed drawing of a stone-cutting machine.In small saws, the cutting tool is fixed with a stand similar to the goats that were previously used everywhere for sawing firewood.
In the design of small saws, a blade with a thickness of 0.8-1 mm is used. Such a cutting tool is made of mild steel, but for larger devices, for reasons of stiffening, a thicker metal sheet is required. It is necessary to ensure the continuous flow of water and abrasive powder into the area of the stone cutting. The abrasive compound, gradually cutting material, is picked up by the metal of the sawing tool. And water drops falling from top to bottom on the powder create the conditions for a constant and evenly distributed flow of the mixture into the cutting area through a special tray made of plasticine. When working with free abrasive, mixtures 100 and 220 are used. Many people make stone-cutting machines with their own hands. Instructions from specialists and experienced designers will be very helpful.
Wire machine
The most widespread such stone-cutting machine was in China. With their help, massive blocks of jadeite are cut into small and comfortable pieces of material for further work. When using such equipment, there are practically no restrictions on the size of the stone that can be cut with this machine.
The only thing that limits these dimensions is the parameters of the arc on which the cutting wire is mounted. This item of equipment should have a sufficiently large size that allows you to completely cover the stone.
There are two types of wire machine. In the first version, an arc is used, in the second - rollers. With the arc method of cutting, the cutting element is pulled between the ends of the arc made of wood, and in the roller type it is rewound from one cartridge to another. In this case, the direction of rotation of the bobbins changes after one complete rewind.
