Design of a thin circular sawblade for natural stone sawing process

Jaime Martínez Verdú,Francisco Beltrán Berenguer,Vicente J González Penella,José M Sabater Navarro

doi:10.1177/1687814017730533

Abstract

The existing crisis has accentuated problems related to the energetic perspective which forces the industrial framework to take actions. Natural stone companies are those more deteriorated by the crisis since they depend on the construction sector. While it is true that embedded energy in the natural stone industry includes extraction, transport and processing stages, the abrasive effect of sawing and polishing activities is responsible for the most energy consumption in stone manufacture. For this reason, improving sawing processes could have a major impact on the natural stone sector. This article presents a design of a new thinner diamond segmented circular sawblade for marble sawing, which reduces energy consumption during the sawing process. First of all, a multi-axis force measurement system was employed to determine the cutting conditions of a conventional diamond segmented circular sawblade under a pre-set configuration. Then, the research team defined a digital prototype of a commercial diamond segmented circular sawblade, and the data extracted from experimental measurements were used to configure the simulation. The simulation provided information about the mechanical performance experienced by the circular sawblade (such as stresses, displacements and eigenfrequencies). Subsequently, the geometry of that commercial circular sawblade was optimised seeking to reduce the moment of inertia while keeping the mechanical performance within safe and functional limits. At the end of the research, it was experimentally demonstrated that the new thinner circular sawblade designed reduces energy consumption during a sawing operation compared to the commercial circular sawblade.

Highlights

Natural stone can be used in numerous applications related to construction due to its beauty and mechanical–thermal behaviour
Once it is clear that changing the geometry may have a significant impact on energy consumption, the following stage of the research starts by designing a multiaxis force measurement system; this system, named as Maltese cross system (MCS), allows the measurement of cutting forces and mechanical as well as electrical power consumption
The energy required to spin a circular sawblade is related to its mass and geometry, so a thinner circular sawblade reduces energy consumption

Summary

Introduction

Natural stone can be used in numerous applications related to construction due to its beauty and mechanical–thermal behaviour. The natural stone sector has seen its profits fall since it ranks as one of the sectors that have been hit the hardest by the financial crisis. This negative effect has made no impact on the energy bill and energy consumption and instead costs kept on growing.

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Conclusion