Fabricating Technology 2020: Tooling & Accessories
Manufacturers of tooling and accessories used during the stone production process introduce new product lines every year that continually increase efficiency and accuracy. The products in the roundup below are just a handful of the many technological advances in this arena that are now available.
Alpha- Tooling and Accessories
The Alpha Beveling Auxiliary Base Starter Kit was designed to perform precision grinding for perfect mitered edge applications. This portable kit will save time, money and potential errors when compared to expensive machinery. The kit contains the Beveling Auxiliary Base, Carriage Assembly, Guide Rail Set (4’, 7’ and 12’) and Surface Protection Tape. These components will assist you in creating a precise edge whether mitered, beveled or straight with the use of a wet polisher or variable speed grinder with a 5/8- to 11-inch spindle. This wet only kit will reduce operator fatigue and improve the quality of the finish as well as the speed. When grinding or polishing, prepping for a seamless countertop installation, miter edge for lamination or for a “fancy” Hollywood bevel edge treatment, this tool allows you to control the cutting depth and angle (between 15 to 90 degrees) in order to make professional quality edges at a fraction of the cost. Alpha also offers a wide variety of abrasives for all your needs.
www.alpha-tools.com/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?PageCode=2590
Better Vacuum Cups- Tooling and Accessories
BVC Group Inc. is proud to introduce the all new SS40300 narrow sink rail cup. This is not just for support. This BVC product comes with the legendary holding power of Better Vacuum Cups Inc. and is great for small vanities. As in the name SS40300 is a 40mm X 300mm narrow cup at 105mm height. Taller sizes coming soon. Decrease spoil, along with set-up times, while your feed speeds are increased to give you more production out of your CNC.
Blick Industries- Tooling and Accessories
Blick Industries is proud to announce that 2020 will mark our 25th year anniversary.
The stone industry has evolved over the past 25 years and Blick has had the privilege of being a continuing part of that evolution, including various technical advances. Currently, the focus is on high-speed tooling and increased fabrication rates. Not only is holding power important, but accuracy is critical in your choice of workholding devices.
To support this next generation of high-speed tooling, Blick has developed a new pad design that enhances holding power while maintaining accuracy in suction cup height crucial to the use of high-speed tooling. The suction cup height tolerance of +0.05/-0.00 mm for which Blick Industries is well known is unmatched in the industry. This height accuracy coupled with the greater holding power will provide the fabricator with all the necessary instruments needed to take full advantage of this innovative technology.
Braxton Bragg- Tooling and Accessories
The new Viper Extended Life Ultra Compact Tile Blades, which are available from Braxton-Bragg, have a mesh pattern on a 10mm segment that cuts through ultra compact materials like butter! They offer longer blade life and have a reinforced blade hub.
Advantages:
- Extended blade life
- 10mm segment
- Designed for ultra compact material
- Thin blade design
- Reinforced blade hub
- Arbor knock-out
www.braxton-bragg.com/viper-extended-life-porcelain-blades.html
Etemplate Systems- Digital Templating
The ELaser Xpress features speed, averaging one second per point, accuracy of 1mm for a typical sized space, digital leveling and all new compact design with rugged case coming in at a very portable 13 lbs! These enhancements, along with the automated countertop functions within Measure Manager, allow the user to create templates much faster! Setup, shoot your points and hit enter!
“We are constantly improving our products through feedback from our clients, our own engineers and programmers, industry partners, and CNC manufacturers delivering seamless compatibility with all CNC machinery,” saids ETemplate’s Vice President, Ted Allen. “Our goal is to help our clients make the transition to digital as easy as possible, integrate with their machinery and deliver the best in features, functionality and ease of use for our users, thereby increasing production and profitability for our clients.”
The ELaser Xpress templating system is designed to be user-friendly, highly portable, feature rich, fast and affordable. With digital technology and industry 4.0 being the trend, ETemplate Systems is committed to providing innovative solutions for the rapidly changing Stone Industry.
GranQuartz- Tooling and Accessories
Black Magic Combo Edge Wheels from GranQuartz are designed for use on all edge machines for the production of flat or radius edges. The white resin performs exceptionally well on materials, including granite and marble and avoids “burning” engineered stone. For optimal results in shops that produce 50/50 natural stone and quartz surfaces, use the 4 COPPER positions followed by resin polishing wheels.
For quartz surfaces, stop with 2,000 grit.
- For polishing radius and flat edges on granite, marble and engineered stone
- Snail Lock attachment
Groves- Diversified Stone Products
The Miter Up 200 was designed to help you fabricate perfect laminations for miter and rabbet joints on natural and cultured stone. Its innovative ergonomic design allows you to work with the countertop surface facing up, which eliminates kneeling or bending to observe the alignment of the joint. You can clearly see and precisely adjust the fit and finish quickly and easily in a fraction of the time; cutting labor costs while improving productivity. For long jobs, it also eliminates the need for a second person to help hold the front apron in place while clamping it into place. Miter Up kits are available in lengths of 6 feet (with 3 L-clamps), 7 and 8 feet (with four L-clamps), and 10 feet (with five L-clamps).
Integra Adhesives- Tooling and Accessories
Integra Adhesives is proud to offer the MitreForma Clamp, a fabrication tool designed specifically for creating miter fascia in a quick, precise and fool-proof way. Available in the U.S. through Integra Adhesives, the MitreForma Clamp creates high-quality, 90-degree seams in a fast and simple way. Available in two sizes, the MitreForma Clamp cuts preparation time by up to 75% and saves valuable labor time.
The MitreForma clamp is best complemented with Surface Bonder ZERO, a new adhesive with zero sag for quartz , sintered materials and natural stone. Surface Bonder ZERO works extremely well when mitering, as the adhesive stays in place after the adhesive bead is applied. This allows for a clean, no-mess, no-waste application. Moreover, Surface Bonder Zero offers great bonding strength.
Laser Products Industries- Digital Templating
One of the most popular features of LPI’s LT-2D3D Laser Templator is its CNC integration capabilities. Rapid file transfer and seamless integration to many CNC brands ensure files are setup specifically to each brand’s specifications to help expedite the fabrication process by reducing rework and other modifications. This integration is one of the main reasons why the top CNC manufacturers recommend our system. Also, this feature is just one component of the comprehensive output package the LT-2D3D creates for each job. Create and package estimates, signoffs, contracts, slab layouts and jobsite photos into one complete package that can be emailed back to the shop for fabrication.
Marmoelettromeccanica- Tooling and Accessories
These CNC edge profiling tools are the revolutionary new set of wheels produced by Marmoelettromeccanica. They feature the latest diamond technology, Extra High Speed (EHS), a copper bonded coating on the tools. They work at least 2.5 times faster than any other brand available, resulting in 2.5 times more production in the same time. The tools can reach an incredible speed of up to 400 inch/per minute even on the hardest materials. They are the fastest CNC profiling tools ever produced for granite, quartz, ceramic and Dekton.
www.aramsco.com/marmoelettromeccanica
Prodim- Digital Templating
Prodim Factory Draw Advanced is a new software module that features easy-to-use design functionalities for creating solids and the modeling of multiple planes in 2D/3D.
Stone templators and fabricators can design their projects while making use of simplified views of reality in 2D and 3D. This enables operators to create perfect alignments and visually check their design and calculations. The software will help prevent mistakes by alerting the operator when problems occur, like the collision of solids. Prodim Factory Draw Advanced not only introduces new means to create digital templates for production, it takes digital templating to another level!
Regent Stone Products- Diversified Stone Products
The world’s first battery-powered hand-held suction cup, the Nemo Grabo features a built-in vacuum gauge and comes in a hard shell case with a back-up battery, carry strap, replacement foam ring, charger and replacement filter. Traditional suction cups can only create a good seal with flat, clean and airtight surfaces such as glass, but Grabo’s unique seal allows it to be used on textured, rough or etched surfaces. This capability allows Grabo to create a seal with the majority of patterned tiles, pavers, textured stone surfaces and many other common construction materials.
Stone Boss- Diversified Stone Products
Panther Prowler Router Machine
- Rotation Speed: 9,000rpm
- Rise and Fall: 30mm ( 1.18’’)
- Frame: Aluminum Housing
- Power: 1.8 kW/2.4HP
- Aquaplaning
- Power cord: 20 feet 12 AWF w/ground
- Machine Weight: 35kg (77lbs)
Tenax- Tooling and Accessories
Tenax introduces a new and revolutionary polishing wheel fast swap magnetic system. This new magnetic attachment will allow you to swap edge polishing wheels in a matter of seconds, thus increasing productivity and usage of the machine.
The system can be installed on any manufacturer’s edge polishing machine. It will allow the removal of the abrasives either from the front or the back of the machine with very few easy steps.
The abrasives used are the same 6-inch top-quality W fine grain guaranteed to work on every color of quartz and natural stone. Available in grits 120, 220, 400, 600, 800, 1200, 1500, 2000 and 3000.
www.tenax4you.com/quick-swap-edge-polishing-wheels-s/2052.htm
Terminator Diamond Products- Tooling and Accessories
Yes, you read that right! Eliminate production bottle necks; eliminate the need to change-out blades; eliminate the headaches. The Nano Q3 has been designed, tested and re-tested to yield the fastest most reliable results on quartzite materials. On 3cm Taj Mahal achieve unmatched on pass cutting parameters; 120 ipm for standard 90° cuts and 45 ipm for 45° miter cuts. The ability for the Q3 to cut so freely on such a hard material makes it a great cross-over blade to other materials, namely; granite and engineered stone, saving you time on blade change-outs and on purchasing multiple blades.
For over 25 years, Terminator continues to innovate to provide its customers with the best products so they can get the job done as efficiently and beautifully as possible.
Wood’s Powr-Grip- Diversified Shop Products
Wood’s Powr-Grip® (WPG) is best known for designing, manufacturing and selling hand-held vacuum cups and medium-duty vacuum lifters. Many of the company’s DC-powered lifters are equipped with the WPG’s exclusive Intelli-Grip® Technology. By monitoring vacuum and battery levels and performing ongoing diagnostics, Intelli-Grip® maximizes productivity, reduces human error and simplifies maintenance and repairs.
Recently, WPG expanded this technology with the introduction of the Intelli-Grip® App, which displays the same information shown on a lifter’s on-board Intelli-Grip® Control Unit. Now, lifter data can be viewed at safe distance by a lifter user. And, because the app can be downloaded to any Android-powered device, others (supervisors, installers) within range of the lifter can also view the information.
Safety is a top priority for WPG, so the app is limited to monitoring only — it cannot carry out lifter functions. The app is ready to use with any Powr-Grip model DC3 lifters made after May 2019. Model DC3 lifters made earlier can be upgraded to make them compatible.
Zenesis- Tooling and Accessories
Advancing on the technology that has made Zenesis the best performing bridge saw blades, the new Zenesis Turbo blades outperform all other blades on the market. The unique turbo design provides fast and clean cuts that are virtually chip free, reducing clean-up time and thereby saving you time both during cutting and afterwards.
- Fast clean cuts outperforming any turbo blade on the market
- Cooling holes to prevent overheating
- Quad holes for flush cut adapt
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