Back in January, I traveled to Austin, TX, to visit a friend of mine (and to get a little work done). When I got off the plane, the business portion of my trip started pretty much as usual. I visited a granite countertop fabricator in the area and talked about the CNC machinery, bridge saws, edging machines, etc. they use in their day-to-day operations. I took some photos of their equipment in action, looked at some finished countertops and called it a day. It was the continuation of our magazine’s goal and mission to provide our readers with “real life” examples of the stone fabrication sector, providing practical information on countertop production in the field.
Park Industries introduces the Destiny® XE CNC Stonecenter, which has been engineered to increase production capabilities with automatic changing of 50 tools. Users can route and edge straight or decorative radius shapes on 1- to 6-cm stone with just one easy set-up, the company reports.
I have been on many boards and committees during my years at Stone World, and while they have all been important, and I feel like we achieved some worthwhile goals, no group has the potential to do as much good for the stone industry as the Natural Stone Council (NSC).
A year and a half ago, VIC International, with its engineering and manufacturing joint venture associate, Schubert Environmental Equipment, sought to address the problem of adequate water treatment for stone fabricators without “over costing the problem” with ultra high efficiency water cleaners.
Each year, the parent company of Stone World Magazine polls stone fabricators around the U.S. to get their outlook for the coming year and beyond. And over the past few years, the results have been overwhelmingly positive - for the short term as well as the long term. However, in this year’s report (beginning on page 58), the overall feeling was optimistic - but a bit more tempered than in the recent past.
Green Iron Country of origin: Brazil Bulk density: 2.83 g/cu.cm Absorption: maximum 0.1% per hour Compressive strength: 32.7 Mpa Flexural strength: 7.2 Mpa
Designed specifically for the stone countertop fabricator, the Express 3200 from Regent Stone Products
comes standard with many features that are generally sold as extras,
the company reports. These features include: a heavy-duty cast iron
bridge; a cast iron, fully synchronized and oil-filled rack-and-pinion
gantry system that is sealed from the elements; and a direct-drive
20-hp motor with hand-held remote control.
The AIM MasterJetSaw, available from AGM, is a combination 20-hp saw and 50-hp waterjet. Engineered to be compact and efficient - open from the front and both sides - the MasterJetSaw systems offer easy loading with work areas that are free of obstructions. The MasterJetSaw is ruggedly designed for full-time production operation, with oversized bearings, full bellows way protection and optimized low-stress electronic servo drives.
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