DIY stone cutting machine drawings. Stone cutting machines for home use. Other DIY stone processing technologies

Today we will talk about how to make a homemade stone-cutting machine yourself from scrap materials with your own hands at home in order to cut or saw any type of natural stone. We will also consider drawings of machines for sawing and cutting stones, which you can make yourself

HOMEMADE STONE-CUTTING SAWS. The “heart” of any stone-cutting machine is the spindle - the mounting location cutting disc and a support that supplies a sample to it.

The support for both units is the coolant tank, which must be rigid enough to ensure that the location of these units relative to each other remains unchanged during the sawing process. Such a tank is best made from clad sheet steel 3 mm thick, welding the joints. But you can also make it from boards or thick (12 mm) plywood, lining it from the inside sheet metal, soldered at the joints. Well made, they are almost as good as all-metal tanks.

The spindle is attached to the side wall of the finished tank using bolts and washers. If the walls of the tank are made of wood, large washers should be used to prevent the wood from being pressed down and the bolts from becoming loose. A stone clamp is just a block solid wood with a cross section of 50 x 100 mm, at one end of which a regular door hinge is attached as a hinge.

The stone is clamped using long bolts with wing nuts. Since in longitudinal direction the loop cannot move, it becomes necessary to rearrange the stone in the clamp more than once. But if you fasten a piece of pipe across the tank, along which a sleeve slides, connected to this block by a lever, then you can cut off several plates at once without rearranging the stone in the clamp. Of course, great accuracy cannot be achieved here, but with some skill you can get good results.

The machine parts also include a 0.25 hp engine. pp., V-belt and protective cover. Rear wall the latter must be made from some metal sheet, and cover the sides and front with strips of fabric that could be lifted to observe the sawing. The finished machine and motor are installed on a common base, with sheets of sponge rubber or felt placed under them to reduce noise and vibration.

A machine for cutting and grinding stone can be assembled on the basis of an electric sharpener or an electric drilling device. Such a device has two shaft outputs, one equipped with a cartridge (caliper), the other with an emery wheel or a special faceplate with diamond or other coating. Device power 0.25 kW, rotation speed 2800 rpm.

For stone processing, other electric motors can be used in the power range from 0.25 to 0.5 kW and speed from 1500 to 3000 rpm.

A box with a hinged lid can serve as a stand for the machine. The machine is attached to the cover with bolts. The hinged cover allows for some operations to install the machine in a tilted position.

A side table is attached to the box on the chuck side. Its height is adjustable so that you can work with cutting wheels of different diameters.

The side table has a guide bar made of a 30 x 30 mm duralumin corner. A protective guard for the cutting wheel is installed on the side. A middle line is drawn along the table and the protective fence, which helps to orient the stone when cutting.

To soundproof the machine, the bottom of the stand box and the supports of the side table are covered with rubber or felt.

A tray with water is placed under the machine table attachment to cool the cutting wheel. To reduce friction, you can add a soap solution to the water. The second water pan is installed under the faceplate.

Homemade stone cutting machines can be improved unusual design. The main thing is to follow safety precautions when working with stone.

A wood saw travels the same distance in seconds. Since diamond cutting discs are much thinner and many times drank more expensive on wood, they must be handled very carefully to avoid jamming, bending and breakage. Very high demands are placed on the precision of manufacturing stone-cutting saws. This is a subtle technique.

If the size of the stone is more than 50–70 mm, holding it in your hands when sawing is impractical - it is inconvenient. But stone is a natural material, so it rarely has a flat surface and cannot be placed stably on the saw table. It is necessary to use various clamps so that they firmly hold the stone and prevent it from turning or shaking. The clamp is attached to a caliper that slides along guides to the cutting disc. The stone is fed slowly and carefully to ensure only the lightest contact with the cutting disc.

So, the main components of a stone-cutting saw are: the spindle on which the cutting disc is attached; drive device for rotating the disk; support with clamp for stone; container for holding coolant and frame.

Those who want to make a stone-cutting machine with their own hands need to know that the cutting discs must be installed on sufficiently thick steel shafts to maintain the rigidity of the structure and the accuracy of its operation under the influence of applied stresses.

Small discs (up to 100mm diameter) can work well on 12mm diameter shafts, although 15mm diameter shafts should be preferred. For discs with a diameter of up to 400 mm, a shaft diameter of 18–25 mm is required. The end of the shaft can be of a smaller diameter if the rest has the same diameter.

The discs are secured with flanges on both sides to ensure rigidity and uniform rotation. Thin discs require larger flanges than thicker discs. For a disc with a diameter of 112 mm, flanges with a diameter of 75 mm should be used; for 200 mm discs – flanges 37–50 mm; for 300–400 mm – flanges 75 87 mm. In some cases, when it is necessary, for example, to cut thin slots with great precision, the flanges may only be 12 mm short of the edge of the disk.

All parts of the machine table (body, enclosing visor, bath and top plate) can be glued together from plexiglass, only for the body and table you need to take plexiglass 5-6 mm thick - this will make the structure rigid and durable. It is better to supply water through a copper tube with a diameter of 3-4 mm. The tube needs to be bent in a semicircle, a supply fitting from the same tube must be soldered to it and a rubber supply hose must be put on it cold water. The tube should cover the diamond saw on both sides.

During cutting, the stone is held with both hands, tightly fitting to the table, which eliminates skewing or “jumping” of the stone, and with light pressure it is passed through the saw. You can cut the mineral into plates of a strictly defined thickness on a machine with a stop located to the left of cutting wheel. The position of the stop determines the thickness of the plate. The stone is pressed against the stop with the right hand and pushed through the saw.

It is especially convenient to hold the stone with two hands when cutting agate tonsils and irregularly shaped minerals. However, you need to be very careful when turning the stone so as not to accidentally warp it and break the saw.

To give the stone a stable position, its edge is ground (cut off). The resulting support pad is pressed against the stop and passed through a diamond saw.
You can also place the stone in cardboard box, pour cement or plaster and, when it hardens, cut it. Upon completion of sawing, the fixing cement and plaster must be carefully removed. If you have to cut a cracked stone, it is first treated with epoxy glue and allowed to dry.

You can extend the service life of a diamond cutting wheel by installing angular contact bearings on the machine shaft, which will relieve the shaft from longitudinal and transverse play, as well as by using a piece of emery wheel, which will minimize the eccentricity of the cutting wheel. When the machine operates, a lot of sludge is generated (a mixture of abrasive and stone waste). To prevent it, along with water, from getting onto the bearings and other rotating parts of the machine, you need to cover them with a screen, gasket, etc.

To manufacture a cutting machine, it is necessary that the rotation speed of the diamond cutting wheel be equal to 1500-2500 rpm at a peripheral speed of 15-25 m/s. Weak, cracked stones are best cut at low speeds (1000-1500 rpm). The optimal grit size for a diamond cutting wheel is 250/200, 200/160, 160/125 and 125/100. It is not advisable to use wheels with a smaller grain size in amateur practice due to the sharp increase in cutting time.

Now about the design of the cutting machine. Home machine- this is a lot of compromises and simplifications compared to industrial, but it also has strict requirements. The most important of them is to minimize the eccentricity of the cutting wheel on the shaft, the eccentricity of the bearing shafts, longitudinal and especially transverse play of the shaft (good results can be obtained using angular contact rolling bearings). These measures will significantly extend the service life of the cutting wheel and avoid nail-like chips on the surface of the stone.

The shaft bearings must be protected from sludge that is formed during cutting and, together with the coolant, splashes and settles on the machine parts. Sludge has high abrasive and corrosive properties. Conventional felt or rubber seals do not protect the bearings enough; at a minimum, shielding protection is also needed.

The easiest way is to make a machine that has diamond wheel fits directly onto the motor axis. The rotation speed of a circle with a diameter of 200 mm should be 2500-3000 rpm. With this design, it is necessary that the motor bearings are very precise (for example, plain bearings), and the rotor is well balanced. Otherwise so expensive and rare instrument, like a diamond wheel, will not last long.
If it is not possible to purchase a good motor, you should choose a machine design with an elastic connection between the motor and the wheel.

V-belt transmission gives the best results. It absorbs hard impacts when the stone is distorted, allows you to remove the engine from an area of high humidity, and also simple selection pulley diameters, obtain the rotation frequency necessary for good operation of the diamond wheel, regardless of engine speed. The design must be thought out so that it is easy to replace cutting discs without disassembling the machine. The diameter of the flange attaching the circle to the shaft can be small, only 8-10 millimeters larger than the diameter mounting hole circle. It is best to purchase a single-phase, asynchronous electric motor with a power of 180-230 watts. Such engines are used in household appliances and are always on sale.

The coolant must be supplied to the circle from both sides, and so that its entire surface is wetted. Usually it is supplied with two flexible tubes, slightly pressed to the sides of the circle. They are located closer to the axis and 30-40 millimeters above the line connecting the shaft axis with the center of the working section of the circle.
When cutting, coolant splashes out and you have to make sure it gets into the catch basin.

When developing protection, you should remember that about 60-70% of the water is sprayed in the plane of rotation of the disk. The spread to the sides occurs at an angle not exceeding 5-10 degrees. The figure shows the direction of liquid expansion. It is most difficult to cope with the remaining 30-40% of the liquid, since it is this part that scatters quite evenly in all directions. Fortunately, the spatter generated where the disc enters the stone contains almost no sludge. The sludge comes out from below and sinks into the bath.

Good protection against splashing can be obtained in the following design. Here, in front of the bathtub, an apron made of polyethylene or oilcloth is attached, which top part fastens around the master's neck. If it is made wide enough, then almost all the splashes flying outside the machine end up on the apron and flow down it into the bathtub. From the bath, liquid with sludge is removed from the machine through a tube (diameter of at least 10 millimeters). The amount of water supplied will have to be selected experimentally, but, as a rule, it is enough so that when the motor is not running, a thin stream flows from the circle (always on both sides) and does not separate into drops, at least over 3-5 centimeters of its free fall.

You should not make the machine particularly light; the greater its weight, the larger samples it can cut. It is best to mount the machine permanently. For example, in some nightstand. You can cut a stone either on a stop (table), pressing the stone against it and moving it along the surface, or without it, when you simply hold the stone with both hands. The advantages of the latter method are that you can completely arbitrarily select the cutting plane, regardless of the shape of the stone, and slowly rotate it in this plane, which speeds up the process by 2-5 times. The disadvantages include relatively rapid wear of the tool (uneven production cutting edge) and the fact that the stone is quite difficult to hold in the cutting plane.
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This technique should be mastered with caution, since if it is skewed, the stone can be knocked out of your hands and the tool can be broken. When working with a stop, the cutting plane is forced to be selected so that the stone rests firmly on the table and does not swing on it. Cutting with a stop is easier and safer in terms of tool breakage, the diamond wheel is better preserved, but the process is much slower. The stone is fed onto the wheel with slight pressure, this increases the cutting speed, but too much pressure leads to chipping of the diamond grains that have not yet been worn out. However, the skill appears quite quickly.

As already mentioned, stone can be cut without a diamond wheel, as was done before its appearance. For cutting, take a brass or copper disk and abrasive powder, supplied to the cutting site in the form of a slurry. Additional cooling is not required, since the heating in this case is insignificant. Any of the above-mentioned machines, in which the disk rotation speed is reduced to 200-300 rpm, is suitable for work. At higher speeds, loose abrasive will be thrown off the disc. Cutting takes a very long time, and to speed it up, it is advisable to make a device that automatically feeds the pulp and holds the stone. Here the stone is fed under the influence of its own weight and the weight of the lever on which it is rigidly fixed.

The other end of the lever rotates freely around axis AA, strictly parallel to the axis of the cutting wheel. Rotating, the cutting wheel passes through a layer of oil-abrasive suspension and carries cutting particles along with the oil. Considering the slowness of the process, you can attach a limit switch in the path of the lever to automatic shutdown machine upon completion of cutting.
In addition to the methods described above, stone is also cut with strips - straight blades similar to hacksaw blades. Strips are made of steel with a diamond cutting part. Strip machines are used for simultaneous cutting of stone into several plates. A frame with strips attached in parallel is lowered onto the stone block. The crank mechanism gives it reciprocating movements. The cutting field is irrigated with a liquid that cools, lubricates and carries away cuttings. Based on this principle, one can imagine different versions of an amateur machine that works not with a diamond tool, but with an abrasive suspension.

The most common method of feeding stone cutting tool. The opposite option is possible: the stone is fixed, a cutting tool mounted together with the engine on a swinging frame is fed.

The use of stone-cutting tools ensures a high degree of accuracy and impeccable cutting quality of any non-metallic material. With its help, marble, porcelain stoneware, tiles, large-sized slabs of large thickness and other durable materials can be easily processed according to a given shape and size. In addition, when using a saw with a diamond edge, the stone cutting machine is perfect for working with wood.

Main characteristics and classification of machines

The main feature of this design is the water-wetted cutting surface of the machine. Therefore, an electric pump must be a mandatory component in the process diamond cutting. Water increases the service life of the disk, cools it during operation, and also reduces noise and the spread of construction abrasive dust.

The range of applications of a stone cutting machine is very wide: it is used to cut stair steps, building stone, bricks for laying walls, concrete pipes, etc. It is successfully used both in conditions country house construction, and interior decoration, as well as in preparation for laying refractory bricks.

With this tool, cutting can be done not only at a right angle, but also at an angle of 45 degrees.

Depending on the manufacturer and model, machines are:

stationary or manual;
single-head or double-head;
with mechanical or pneumatic clamping;
with or without cooling system;
with bottom or top drive;
With in different ways slab feed: bottom, pendulum or frontal;
differ in disc diameter, power, length and cutting depth.

Hence their different purposes:

Cutting machines are used to cut stone slabs of various configurations.
Calibration units are used for rough work on leveling a stone slab.
Electric machines are light in weight and designed for significant volumes of work.
Models in which the drive is located on top are called rail models and they use submersible pump. The advantage of this design is the possibility of high precision and quality of the seam.
A stone-cutting machine with a disk located at the bottom is suitable for cutting slabs of any size; it is usually small size and is often used indoors. The main consumables for all machines are diamond discs, whose cost can be quite high.
The most popular machines include tile cutters. Depending on the amount of work to be done, they can be manual or electric. Manual is used where there is not a lot of work, and the thickness of the tiles does not exceed 15 mm. For example, with a length of 400 mm, the machine copes perfectly with thicknesses of up to 8 mm. How longer handle the tool, the thicker the tile it can cut.
It is worth noting that many models have a rotating ruler and allow cutting at an angle.
The cutting process occurs as follows: the tile is securely fixed in the clamps, after which a mark is applied with an abrasive wheel. Then, using strong pressure, the tile breaks along the line.
An electric tile cutter is used when the working volume is large, for example, when tiling the facade of a building. Such equipment provides the most even cut line without chips or scars. Well suited for cutting tiles and tiles on hard and soft substrates.

Machine design

Modern models achieve such precision in cutting parts that the joints are practically invisible. Thanks to this they found their wide application in all kinds of creative workshops for making decorative elements interior and landscape.

The design of a typical machine necessarily includes:

frame;
engine;
transmission;
auxiliary equipment (for example, pump).

Most often, the frame is made of cast iron or high-strength steel, since it serves as a frame for attaching other components.

The electric motors with which the machines are equipped are needed to drive the cutting tool. They come in different capacities and are mainly designed for 220V and 380V. Of course, increased consumption provides more power and allows the use of larger diameter discs. If the model is with a top drive, then the engine is attached to the top of the structure on a special rail and is a movable element. If the drive is bottom, the engine is attached directly to the frame. In the first case, the stone is fed to the bed, in the second, the cutting tool itself is moved to the stone.

Stone cutting machines are equipped with several types of transmissions: belt, chain, gear, direct drive from the engine, etc. The type of transmission is selected depending on the potential of the engine and the functions included in this model.

The water cooling system often has a closed cycle, that is, during operation, the abrasive of the diamond disc and cutting dust enter the water, circulating repeatedly in the system. As a result, such cooling negatively affects the quality of cutting due to the presence of excess particles, and also reduces the service life of the disc. Therefore, the water cooling system needs frequent water changes. Many professionals refuse to use standard cooling, and instead simply continuously supply clean water to the place of the cut, which, having worked, ends up in the pan.

Some manufacturers equip their models with engine cooling fans, which has a positive effect on large volumes of work.

Advanced machines are equipped with a safety system and overheating protection. This means that if the engine was stopped due to a power outage, then when it is re-supplied, it will not start on its own.

Consumables

Diamond discs are responsible for the sawing process, which, depending on the diameter, can penetrate inside to a depth of 420 mm. A specially designed disk is selected to work with each material. They come in: concrete, travertine, granite, marble, glass, tiles, sandstone, and also universal. Continuously coated diamond cutting blades produce clean, even cuts on marble, ceramic tiles or finishing bricks.

As for segmented disks, they have much more long term operation, but they are only suitable for rough work, where the presence of small chips or uneven cutting is not critical.

Working with diamond discs is undoubtedly more expensive compared to using conventional segmented analogues or Turbo-type discs (with grooves). Therefore, when choosing, you must be guided by the price ratio and the desired result, performance and quality.

How to choose a machine

The Russian market offers cutting-off machines, both domestic and imported. Average price for professional stone-cutting equipment – 80,000 rubles.

First of all, it is worth finding out whether a given machine model has a narrow specialization or is it universal - some samples are produced specifically to perform a single task.
One of the main parameters when choosing a stone-cutting machine before purchasing is its cutting depth. Also pay attention to the length of the cut and the maximum possible diameter of the cutting blade.
Find out what maximum permissible load this equipment can withstand.
Find out how well and accurately the cut is made, and what angles the machine can be adjusted to.
Check to see if it is possible to change the depth of cut during operation, and also remember that the saw blade must have a protective housing.
It is important to know how much water can be held in the disk cooling container.
The working surface of the planer table must be perfectly flat and smooth, and the support must be stable and not wobble.

Fubag stone cutting machines

Productive work is based on two components: the first is a high-quality machine, the second is right choice diamond disc.

The products of the German company Fubag are designed for cutting all types of artificial and natural stone, ceramic tiles, as well as other building materials. All stone-cutting equipment of the brand is fully compliant international standards quality and safety, and is also distinguished by impeccable assembly and high precision of the resulting cut.

Advantages of Fubag machines:

wide model range. The ability to select a machine depending on the type of work performed and select a disk in accordance with the material being processed and the amount of load;
ease of operation. The functional features and design of the equipment are designed in such a way as to make working with a stone-cutting machine as convenient and understandable as possible, and its price optimal;
Thanks to the tireless work of engineers, the build quality and reliability of Fubag tools is constantly improving, improving their performance.

Diam stone cutting machines

Production equipment South Korea has proven itself well in the construction market due to its optimal price/quality ratio. Diam not only supplies durable and reliable stone-cutting machines, but also all kinds of components: cutting wheels with and without housings, diamond discs, stone processing products, etc.

The company's product range includes both bridge and small-sized cantilever machines for granite workshops, universal machines, and seam cutters for landscape and construction work.

DIY stone cutting machine

By its design, this instrument is quite simple mechanism and not much different from ordinary circular saw on wood, and therefore it is quite possible to assemble it at home.

The main components that the machine must have:

The steel shaft to which the disk is attached.
A belt and pulley connecting the shaft to the motor.
A support or platform that holds the material to be cut.
Protective cover.
Steel coolant tank.

Considering that stone is much harder than wood, the shaft must be sufficiently rigid to install the cutting disc. For a small disk with a diameter of up to 100 mm, the shaft can be 12 mm, and for a disk of 400 mm, the shaft diameter must be at least 20 mm. To ensure rigidity of rotation, the disk is secured on both sides with flanges, and the smaller the disk, the larger the flange should be. This ensures the accuracy of the cut.

The saw shaft is necessarily equipped with ball bearings, which ensure precise and easy rotation. This extends the life of the cutting disc and ensures an even cut.

As a drive, you can use, for example, an electric motor from washing machine, the main thing is that it can reach a speed of 1500 rpm and have a power of 180-250 W. In this case, the friction wheel can be two-stage and have a gear ratio of 1:1 or 1:0.35.

A V-belt, for example, from Zaporozhets, is suitable for transmission.

The main element in the machine is the spindle - the place where the disk is mounted. The part is attached to the side of the tank using bolts.

A stone-cutting machine must be equipped with a cooling system, or simply a bath of liquid through which the saw passes as it rotates. The heat generated during sawing, as well as abrasive and dust, must be removed. In addition, wetting the surface reduces the friction force, creating a lubrication effect.

For cooling, you can use light oil, which is used in auto repair shops, or mix kerosene with motor oil in a ratio of 10:1(2).

The use of water-oil emulsions is also possible, but they can lead to corrosion of machine elements.

Automotive antifreeze is well suited - it is non-flammable, evaporates slowly and does not have a strong odor.

The oil pan generates a lot of waste, dust and abrasive that must be removed periodically. It will take several days for the dust to settle completely and be removed. The liquid above the sludge is carefully drained and, if necessary, used again. Its level in the pan should be such that the disk is immersed to a depth of no more than 12 cm.

In many home-made machines, the pallet is a tank that has a structural function, being the basis for the support and spindle. In this case, it is made of durable steel sheets, hermetically welding the walls. In other cases, the tank is made of thin metal and mounted in a wooden frame, which serves as the basis of the machine.

Vibration and noise can be reduced by placing felt or rubber pads under the bottom.

Safety rules

We must not forget about safety precautions when working with a stone-cutting machine:

Make sure the tool is in a stable, horizontal position.
Be sure to wear work clothes and protect your eyes, ears and respiratory tract.
Do not use the equipment if any parts are missing: protective casing, grounding, or broken wire insulation.
Use diamond blades good quality and only in accordance with the selected material.

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A stone saw is no different from a regular circular saw for wood and is essentially a fairly simple machine. In both designs you can see almost the same devices.

The main parts of a stone cutting machine are:

steel shaft or spindle on which the disk is mounted,
pulley and V-belt connecting the shaft to the electric motor,
as well as a platform, or support, where the material to be cut is placed.

The stone-cutting saw must have a container with coolant in it to immerse the disk in while it rotates, in order to cool the saw and wash out stone dust from it.

The principle of operation of a stone cutting saw is the same as that of wood saws, but we must remember that minerals are much harder than wood and therefore working with them requires special techniques that need to be learned. A good diamond saw cuts soft minerals at a speed of about 5 mm/min, and harder and tougher minerals at a slightly lower speed. A wood saw travels the same distance in seconds. Because diamond cutting blades are much thinner and many times more expensive than wood saws, they must be handled very carefully to avoid jamming, bending and breaking. Very high demands are placed on the precision of manufacturing stone-cutting saws. This is a subtle technique.

If the size of the stone is more than 50–70 mm, holding it in your hands when sawing is impractical - it is inconvenient. But stone is a natural material, so it rarely has a flat surface and cannot be placed firmly on the saw table. It is necessary to use various clamps so that they firmly hold the stone and prevent it from turning or shaking. The clamp is attached to a caliper that slides along guides to the cutting disc. The stone is fed slowly and carefully to ensure only the lightest contact with the cutting disc.

So, the main components of a stone-cutting saw are: a spindle on which the cutting disc is mounted; drive device for rotating the disk; support with clamp for stone; container for holding coolant and frame.

The discs are secured with flanges on both sides to ensure rigidity and uniform rotation. Thin discs require larger flanges than thicker discs. For a disc with a diameter of 112 mm, flanges with a diameter of 75 mm should be used; for 200 mm discs – flanges 37–50 mm; for 300–400 mm – flanges 75 87 mm. In some cases, when it is necessary, for example, to cut thin slots with great precision, the flanges may only be 12 mm short of the edge of the disk.

The saw shaft is equipped with bearings to ensure easy and precise rotation. Ball bearings are durable and must be used. The ball bearing saw maintains accuracy after many hours of cutting stone, which ensures a straight cut and long-term performance of the cutting disc.

Some saws use plain bearings, but saws with such bearings quickly lose accuracy if significant forces are applied to the ends of the shafts. The shafts begin to vibrate and cutting accuracy is lost. Therefore, most modern saws use only ball bearings.

Most bearings, of course, need lubrication, especially plain bearings, where a thin film of oil helps center the shaft and prevent friction.

Today developed several types of bearings that do without lubrication at all or require it occasionally. Some ball bearings are filled with lubricant during their manufacture, and subsequently they no longer require refilling due to the presence of oil seals. These bearings are protected from abrasive powder, which quickly damages other types of bearings.

Sliding bearings made of porous bronze also do not require maintenance. The bronze in them is impregnated with oil, providing lubrication for many days.

It must be remembered that the shaft of any stone-cutting equipment, regardless of its type, must be rigid and not bend, and bearings of any design must ensure rotation accuracy - then sawing the stone will proceed without difficulty.

Caliper and clamping devices machine are the next most important parts after cutting discs and spindle. They serve to hold and feed the stone to the cutting disc. Modern machines are equipped with massive supports and clamps that allow you to easily and accurately manipulate stones from small sizes (5-7 cm) to large ones - 30 cm.

To clamp the stone, for reasons of strength, metal jaws are usually used, but their inner surface is usually lined with pieces of hard wood, due to the elasticity of which the stone is better grasped. The caliper slides or rolls forward along guides that are adjusted to allow the caliper to advance a certain distance. The most important requirement, presented to any stone-cutting machine, is that. If this is not the case, then when sawing large stones, the disc will rub against the stone and bend.

Caliper feed in simple machines carried out due to the gravity of the load attached to the cable, which is thrown over the block and connected to the sliding caliper, moving towards the cutting disc. The master turns on the motor and moves the caliper with his hands so that sawing of the stone begins. When the cutting depth reaches 12 mm or more, the load is allowed to pull the caliper. The weight of the load is adjusted depending on the size of the stone being cut.

This design has disadvantages.

Since most of the processed stones are of irregular shape, their cross-section changes, that is, in some places they will be wider, and in others narrower.

Consequently, the load should be either heavier or lighter. Therefore, if constant attention is not paid to sawing, it will be difficult to regulate the weight of the load. If the load is heavy enough, then the cutting disc, when it hits thin sections, will experience increased pressure that is harmful to it and will quickly become unusable. If you choose the mass of the load, counting on thin sections, then this will delay the cutting of thick sections.

Another disadvantage of the design is that at the end of sawing, when the cross-section of the stone suddenly narrows and the speed of the cutting disk increases sharply due to a decrease in resistance, the remaining piece of stone often breaks off and a toothed protrusion remains in the path of the cutting disk, which is not cut off when the disk moves further , but fits onto it, which causes the disk to bend into the shape of a plate. And in further work, the curved disk becomes more and more crooked, and finally, the deformation reaches such dimensions that further sawing is impossible and the disc has to be thrown away, even if there is a lot of unused diamond left on it.

But such machines are inexpensive, since they do not have a complex feed mechanism, and if an amateur craftsman is familiar with the indicated disadvantages, he can get good results by operating the saw with appropriate precautions.

From mechanical methods caliper feed Screw feed and feed using an adjustable mass load are especially often used.

Screw feed uses a long threaded shaft that passes through the caliper or is connected to it by means of a running nut. As the cutting disc rotates, the shaft rotates slowly and moves the caliper forward. Some machines provide different shaft rotation speeds and, therefore, the ability to adjust the feed speed of the support. Large sections or viscous materials such as jade or chalcedony require minimum feed rates.

Soft materials (calcite onyx or serpentine) can be sawed at higher feed speeds. A valuable feature of some machines with mechanical feed is the presence of a clutch, which prevents the disc from jamming in the stone if the speed of cutting the stone lags behind the speed of its feed.

Clamping devices

Many supports are equipped with a cross feed, which allows you to cut several plates from the stone at once before the stone moves in the clamp. The stone should be clamped very carefully so that it does not break out during sawing and damage the disc. Many beginning amateurs, when cutting a stone into slabs, insert only a small part of it into the clamps, hoping to get as many slabs as possible before the next repositioning of the stone. But if the stone is not securely fastened, it can move and sometimes bend the cutting disc so much that the damage is irreparable.

Precision clamps make it possible to cut plates up to 1.5 mm thick or blocks up to 100 mm thick.

Coolants for stone cutting machines

The stone-cutting machine must be equipped with a bath of liquid through which the cutting disc will pass during rotation. When cutting stone, a lot of heat is generated. This heat, as well as the stone dust generated during cutting, must be removed. But the liquid is also needed as a lubricant, reducing friction between the disc and the stone.

Liquids used when cutting stone are called.

However, cooling is not their only purpose. It is convenient to use light, almost colorless oils, which are used in car repair shops, as well as kerosene, to which regular motor oil is added in the proportion of 1-2 parts oil to 10 parts kerosene.

Diesel fuel can also be used.

Diesel fuel and kerosene are flammable. It is best to keep them outside the house or room where the stone is being processed, and not spill them on the floor. The floor under the machine should be covered with a material from which spilled liquid can be easily wiped off, and oily rags should be thrown away in a safe place.

For sawing stone, you can use water-oil emulsions, which are used when processing metal on metal-cutting machines. However, they can contribute to corrosion of machine parts, even if they are thoroughly wiped and cleaned.

Therefore, manufacturers of stone-processing machines require that emulsions and water not be used in their work.

Antifreeze, used in cars as a coolant, is used with good results. antifreeze liquid. It evaporates slowly, is non-flammable and has almost no odor.

When sawing stones, you need to have a bucket or basin with a solution of detergent on hand to wash the cut plates from excess oil.

For large-scale sawing, there should be a box with sawdust to absorb excess oil, and care must be taken to ensure fire safety.

Rags used to remove oil should not be stored in closed containers as they may spontaneously ignite. Cooling oils penetrate stone easily, so they must be removed quickly to minimize contamination of the art and jewelry material.

Turquoise, variscite and other porous minerals absorb oil very quickly, so before sawing they need to be soaked in water for several days, which will fill the pores and prevent oil penetration.

A sludge of fine particles of stone dust forms at the bottom of the pan, which must be removed periodically. In order for the sludge to settle tightly to the bottom of the pan, do not use the saw for several days. The liquid above the sludge is then carefully drained and reused if desired. The pan is thoroughly cleaned, purified oil is poured into it and a portion of fresh is added to bring the liquid level to the appropriate level. According to the rules, the cutting disc should be immersed in liquid to a depth of no more than 6 - 12 mm.

Many masonry saws are designed in such a way that the tank not only serves as a container for coolant, but also structural element, carrying the spindle and support. Then the tank is usually made of thick steel sheet, welding the joints.

In other types of machines, the tank is made of thin sheet steel and inserted into a wooden box, which serves as the basis for the entire structure of the machine. It is important that it be rigid, since it supports the support and the spindle with the cutting disc and ensures their strictly defined location relative to each other.

Regardless of whether the machine is homemade or manufactured by industry, it must stand upright and firmly on its base.

Noise and vibration can be significantly reduced by placing felt or sponge rubber under the machine supports. You can also make a special stand for the machine from boards, preferably with a cross-section of 60 x 120 mm.

The machine needs a protective casing that would trap oil splashes when the cutting disc rotates and return it to the tank. Casings are made of metal and plastic.

When designing a homemade stone-cutting machine, you need to know that the main thing in it is the spindle– the place where the cutting disc is mounted and the support that feeds the stone to the disc. The support for both units is the coolant tank, which should ensure that the location of these units relative to each other remains unchanged during sawing. It is best to make the tank from sheet steel 3 mm thick, welding the joints. But it can also be made from boards or thick plywood (12 mm), lined from the inside with sheet metal soldered at the joints. If such a tank is made well, it will be in no way inferior to a tank made of metal.

The spindle is attached to the side wall of the finished tank using bolts and washers.

If the walls of the tank are made of wood, you need to use large washers so that the wood does not press through and the bolts do not become loose. The stone clamp can be made from a block of hard wood with a cross-section of 60 x 120 mm, at one end of which a regular door hinge is attached as a hinge. The stone is clamped using long bolts with wing nuts. Since the loop cannot move in the longitudinal direction, it becomes necessary to rearrange the stone in the clamp more than once. But if you fasten a piece of pipe across the tank, along which a sleeve slides, connected to this block by a lever, then you can cut off several plates at once without rearranging the stone in the clamp.

To make the machine you will also need motor with a power of about 0.25 kW, V-belt and protective cover. The back wall of the casing is made of a metal sheet, and the sides and front sides are covered with strips of fabric that can be lifted to monitor the sawing of the stone.

The finished machine and motor are installed on a common base, with sheets of sponge rubber or felt placed under them to reduce noise and vibration.

A machine for cutting and grinding stone This device has two shaft outputs, one equipped with a chuck (caliper), the other with an emery wheel or a special faceplate with a diamond or other coating. Device power 0.25 kW, rotation speed 2800 rpm.

For stone processing, other electric motors can be used in the power range from 0.25 to 0.5 kW and speed from 1500 to 3000 rpm.

A box with a hinged lid can serve as a stand for the machine. The machine is attached to the cover with bolts. The hinged cover allows for some operations to install the machine in a tilted position.

A side table is attached to the box on the chuck side. Its height is adjustable so that you can work with cutting wheels of different diameters.

To soundproof the machine, the bottom of the stand box and the supports of the side table are covered with rubber or felt.

Homemade stone-cutting machines can be of an improved, unusual design. The main thing is to follow safety precautions when working with stone.

Stone cutting machines

To reveal the secrets of the stone, you will need various machines and equipment. Amateur processing of stone raw materials includes the following operations: stone cutting (or tumbling); rough grinding, or stripping; fine grinding; drilling holes; polishing

Let's take a closer look at the first stone processing operation - cutting.

In the old days, when there were no diamond saws, stone was cut with copper or brass wheels, feeding abrasive powder diluted with water into the cut. The rotation speed of the circles was relatively low - from 200 to 300 rpm. As the rotation speed increased, the loose abrasive was easily thrown off the wheel. Cutting was therefore a very lengthy procedure. In the designs of machine tools they tried to use various mechanical devices, which secured the stone, ensured its uniform pressure on the saw, gradually supplied abrasive powder and turned off the machine after finishing cutting.

Description and characteristics of popular stone cutting machines

The stone was also cut with strips - straight steel saws, using abrasive powder in the cutting area.

With the invention of the diamond wheel, the cutting process accelerated significantly. As discussed above, the diamond grains in the cutting wheel are in tightly pressed metal bonds that hold them until they are completely worn out. During operation, the metal bond gradually wears away, exposing new diamond particles.

If at long work The diamond wheel suddenly stopped cutting, which means some diamond grains are almost worn out, while others have not yet been exposed. To correct the situation, use it to cut a piece of an old grinding wheel or sharpener with a grain size of 100 to 300 microns. This will not only improve the cutting properties of the saw, but also eliminate the eccentricity of the circle. The diamond cutting wheel can be used until the diamond layer is completely worn out.

In amateur practice, to prevent overheating of the diamond layer of the saw and cracking of the stone raw materials, lubricating coolants (coolants) are used, usually cold water, to which baking soda is sometimes added for better wetting and cooling. However, it should be remembered that it is better to use water and soda in closed machines, since during operation a soda mist is formed that settles on machine parts, clothing and furniture. Coolant must be supplied from both sides of the saw using flexible rubber or plastic tubes. When cutting is completed, the diamond cutting wheel and the entire machine should be thoroughly wiped down. If this is not done, the saw blade and metal parts the machine becomes corroded from water and sludge.

The schematic diagram of the machine can be seen in the figure. Typically, such a machine consists of an electric motor, a diamond cutting wheel, a coolant supply system, protection against its splashing, a table with a stop on which the stone is cut, and a tank for collecting sludge.

Schematic diagram of a machine for cutting stone: 1 - table; 2, 4 - visors; 3 - stone; 5 - cutting diamond wheel; 6 - water tank; 7 - water

A machine for cutting small samples can easily be made from the “Skillful Hands” kit of type K-1, produced by the Mogilev Electrodvigatel plant. In it, you need to slightly modify the base of the machine, make a table and a mandrel for attaching a diamond saw. The Skillful Hands kit includes a single-phase electric motor with a power of 250 W and a speed of 2500 revolutions per minute, which is quite enough to install a diamond cutting wheel with a diameter of 125 mm (in this case, the peripheral speed will be 14.8 m/s) for cutting hard stones high up to 30 mm.

All parts of the machine table (body, enclosing canopy, bath and top plate) can be glued together from plexiglass, only for the body and table you need to take plexiglass 5-6 mm thick - this will make the structure rigid and durable. It is better to supply water through a copper tube with a diameter of 3-4 mm. You need to bend the tube in a semicircle, solder a supply fitting from the same tube to it and put a rubber hose on it to supply cold water. The tube should cover the diamond saw on both sides.

During cutting, the stone is held with both hands, tightly fitting to the table, which eliminates skewing or “jumping” of the stone, and with light pressure it is passed through the saw. You can cut the mineral into plates of a strictly defined thickness on a machine with a stop located to the left of the cutting wheel. The position of the stop determines the thickness of the plate. The stone is pressed against the stop with the right hand and pushed through the saw.

To give the stone a stable position, its edge is ground (cut off). The resulting support pad is pressed against the stop and passed through a diamond saw.

You can also place the stone in a cardboard box, fill it with cement or plaster and, when it hardens, cut it. Upon completion of sawing, the fixing cement and plaster must be carefully removed. If you have to cut a cracked stone, it is first treated with epoxy glue and allowed to dry.

It is more convenient to cut a stone when it moves towards the circle. Options for positioning the table plane cutting machine in relation to the cutting wheel are shown in the figure.

Options for installing the thrust table relative to the diamond cutting wheel: 1 - optimal; 2 - mediocre; 3 - worst

If the stone is small in size, it can be polished rather than cut.

The machine shown in the following figure differs favorably from the previous one in that the torque from the engine is transmitted to the saw by an elastic connection, which well absorbs shocks that occur when the stone is distorted, and makes it possible to remove the electric motor from an area of high humidity, thereby complying with the basic safety rules , and, just as importantly, get up to three rotation speeds using replaceable or stepped pulleys. Any V-belt from a washing machine can be used as an elastic connection.

Machine for cutting stone with transmission of torque from an electric motor using an elastic connection: 1 - motor; 2 - belt; 3 - hinge; 4 - visor; 5 - diamond cutting wheel; 6 - water; 7 - switch; 8 - drain; 9 - body

How many machines to have and which ones, each master decides for himself. One, for example, wants to make separate machines for cutting stone and for grinding work, another prefers to combine cutting and grinding in one machine. Which option should I choose? First of all, consider the size of the work space. A serious condition is also the ability to replace one saw with another in a matter of minutes, or change the machine from stone cutting to grinding, or change the rotation speed of the working element.

Stone cutting machine. The diamond cutting wheel and the electric motor are located on one swinging frame: 1 - diamond cutting wheel; 2 - belt; 3 - motor; 4 - stone; 5 - clamping device; 6 - handle

To manufacture a cutting machine, it is necessary that the rotation frequency of the diamond cutting wheel be equal to 1500-2500 rpm at a peripheral speed of 15-25 m/s. Weak, cracked stones are best cut at low speeds (1000-1500 rpm). The optimal grit size for a diamond cutting wheel is 250/200, 200/160, 160/125 and 125/100. It is not advisable to use wheels with a smaller grain size in amateur practice due to the sharp increase in cutting time.

Stone cutting machine. The stone falls onto the saw under the influence of its own weight: 1 - visor; 2 - cutting diamond wheel; 3 - belt; 4 - electric motor; 5 - water; 6 - body; 7 - hinge; 8 - stone

Machines for cutting stone with strip saws: a - option one: 1 - water; 2 - abrasive; 3 - strip saw; 4 - stone; 5 - support; 6 - crank mechanism; 7 - electric motor; b - option two: 1 - electric motor; 2 - crank mechanism; 3 - strip saw; 4 - stone; 5 - bath with water; 6 - support

In addition to the cutting machine, you will need a grinding machine. Sometimes grinding operations are performed on an electric grinder. But it can only be used at the initial stage of work, since processing stone in a vertical plane is inconvenient.

You can, of course, install the sharpening machine vertically and attach it to its shaft grinding wheel, but this is also not a way out. If you place the electric motor vertically, its housing and bearings will quickly heat up, some force will appear along the shaft, and the presence of one speed, sometimes high, does not make it possible to process stone with bulk abrasive and other work. This is why you will eventually have to design a machine with a horizontally mounted roughing tool. The design of two types of such a machine can be seen in the following figure.

Grinding machines with V-belt drive: a - electric motor, installed at the top; 1 - electric motor; 2 - pulley; 3 - fence; 4 - cast iron faceplate; 5 - dropper; b - the electric motor is installed at the bottom; 1 - faceplate; 2 - fence; 3 - bed; 4.7 - pulleys; 5 - electric motor; 6 - belt; 8 - centering unit

The diagram shows that the shaft on which the faceplate is mounted is connected to the electric motor by a V-belt drive. The drive pulley allows the machine to operate at three speeds.

The author made a grinding machine in which the electric motor is located under the cover. The faceplate operates in a plastic housing. It is necessary for collecting sludge and makes it possible not to fear for the integrity of a stone that unexpectedly jumped out of your hands during grinding. Attached along the perimeter of the plastic case rubber gasket, on which the hand rests while working. General view the machine is shown in the figure:

Grinding machine

The grinding machine consists of a frame, on the top cover of which a vertical spindle is installed:

Centering unit with a vertical shaft and bushing for working with diamond tools: 1 - bushing; 2 - clamping nut; 3 - table cover; 4 - washer; 5 - body; 6.9 - bearings; 7 - shaft; 8 - pulley

The machine has two three-stage pulleys. One of them is fixed at the end of the vertical shaft, and the other is attached to the electric motor shaft. At the upper end of the spindle, a cast iron faceplate or diamond cup is secured with a fitting. Torque is transmitted from the electric motor using a V-belt drive. As already mentioned, to collect sludge and prevent splashing of water and abrasive, the machine is equipped with a plastic case, on top of which a rubber gasket is secured. The plastic body should be 5-6 cm above the surface of the faceplate. The machine has a switch and grounding.

Everything about stone processing...

10.09.2010, 07:35

Stone processing - http://shpuntik.kulichki.net/sov00825.html
grinding stones - http://shpuntik.kulichki.net/sov00826.html

10.09.2010, 07:43

http://basik.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=442
Here is another link: the guys posted photos of their stone grinding machines.

18.12.2011, 17:57

homemade rpm 100-5000 smoothly, 800 watts

18.12.2011, 19:48

Slyudyan, I see that your engine is from a washing machine. Share your secret, how do you manage it?
With a diagram, if possible.

Processing stones at home

19.12.2011, 06:08

Slyudyan wrote: homemade rpm 100-5000 smoothly, 800 watts

Which washing machine has an 800 watt motor? I haven’t found more than 180 on washing machines, and 180 is not enough, as a result, I’m thinking about buying a new one and a half kilowatt engine...

19.12.2011, 09:01

The engine is Italian, the tachometer is easy to install, it is controlled via a teristor (from a 2 kW electric drill), a button with a regulator, a phase zero switch to the right - to the left on the brushes

19.12.2011, 09:08

spindle from the front hub of a Zhiguli