Machine of the Month: December 2010

The Diablo by Pellegrini Meccanica

The use of the diamond wire technology has always been considered the new frontier in the stone industry, leading Pellegrini Meccanica to produce the relevant equipment for both quarry exploitation and stone processing factories.

In the beginning, equipment was mainly focused on single-wire plants for squaring, slabbing and profiling purposes, and over the years, it evolved to different versions of multi-wire machinery, with customers around the world using this technology in their plants.

Today, Pellegrini Meccanica designs multi-wire machinery that is available with 2, 5, 9, 16 and 34 diamond wires and various configurations, suitable for a range of production in marble and granite slabs of different thicknesses. In all, there are 100 such units installed around the world.

Most recently, Pellegrini Meccanica has introduced the latest version of the machine, which is equipped with 72 wires. Taking its name from the terms “diamond wire” and “block,” the new machine is named “Diablo.”

“Our slogan is one shot, one block,” stated Pellegrini. “The machine has been in fact designed to allowing to process the maximum commercial block (loadable on a truck) - in one single drop, making it well suited for very high production.

The new plant was designed to offer optimal flexibility in terms of the various thicknesses achievable in a single drop and the different materials allowed - thanks to linear wire speed that is adjustable from 0 to 40 meters per second.

The open machine structure is constituted of two columns - similar to the other Pellegrini units in the same range - and this design, together with presence of covers, allows simple access to the inner motor-grooved drum and single-tensioning flywheels. This optimizes the time necessary for installing and replacing diamond wires as well as adjusting their positioning in the grooves according to the slab thicknesses to be processed. All of this can be done without need to disassemble the four columns often found in other machines.

The Diablo features a new barycentric structure that allows for maximum optimization of materials as well as the proper strength and weight distribution. This, coupled with the unit’s wire-guide drums, allows for optimum cutting accuracy and precision.

The large 2,350-mm motor-drum diameter and new tensioning flywheels systems allow for maximum reliability, cutting performance and tool life. Moreover, the slab retention-device prevents the breakage of the slabs themselves and allows the lift and exit of all the diamond wires after cutting operations.

Thanks to the five patents installed and the new solutions adopted, maintenance time and spare parts replacement are approximately reduced by half, according to Pellegrini Meccanica.