VERONA, ITALY - As a specialized division of the Pellegrini Meccanica group, the branch known as Marmomacchine Pellegrini has always focused its experience on the design and production machinery for different types of rough surface finishing of marble, granite and other stones as well as engineered stone. Surface treatments such as flaming, brushing, bushhammering and sandblasting are completed using Pellegrini equipment, and also of note, the company’s machinery can execute surface scarification by means of high-pressure water.

This system, called WaterStorm, uses a high-pressure jet of water, provided by a special rotary assembly installed under the translating bridge that is directed at the surface. The process creates cavities of variable depth, detaching the weaker parts of the stone surface. The result is a natural rough appearance, and both the color and the structure of the stone are highlighted.

Flexibility of operation is assured through a PC, which can store “recipes” that set the parameters that give optimum results for each specific stone and type of finish. These parameters include travel speed of the nozzle, water pressure, nozzle rotation speed, rotation direction and distance from nozzle to surface - combined with the speed of the slab conveyor. By adjusting these parameters, users can achieve a wide range of processing possibilities.

A large number of tests have determined the jet angle that offers the best compromise between the pump rating and the area being processed, thus optimizing the production speed while limiting the power absorbed.

The machine can be completed with semi- or fully automatic loading and unloading systems and with a special conveyor belt, giving very accurate constant and synchronized slab feed.

For the architectural market, this technology offers stone with characteristics that are not achievable using the traditional equipment available on the market.