Investigation of marble machining performance using an instrumented block-cutter

Circular sawing with diamond segmented sawblades is a machining process that represents a major cost item in the processing of marbles and other natural stones. Therefore, determining the optimum sawing conditions for a particular stone is of major importance in stone processing industry. In this work, utilising a fully instrumented block-cutter, an experimental study was carried out to investigate the sawing performances of seven different types of marbles during circular sawing with a diamond segmented sawblade. The sawing tests were performed in the down-cutting mode. The two main sawing parameters, depth of cut and workpiece travel speed were varied in the pursuit of optimum sawing performance. Considering specific energy as a criterion of sawing efficiency, optimum sawing conditions valid for the tested marbles have been determined. Finally, statistically reliable equations were established to predict specific energy of sawing from simple laboratory rock property test procedures.