September 08, 2005 | Recommend this Article »

Bridge saws

The clever firms invest

Whatever products a stonemasonry firm produces – a bridge saw is an essential part of the basic equipment. No other machine can master a majority of the cutting jobs in a more rational and uncomplicated way.

Firms that have recognized that producing in Germany can be worthwhile invest in fully automatic saws. These improve productivity and save set-up and operating time. The use of computers in the control systems not only makes these saws easier to control, but also means they can be programmed with the office PC. External CAD design programs can also be incorporated.

The average machine park in the industry is too outdated for modern, rational production. Many firms make do with saws without a turntable and without automatic multistage operation, which wastes a lot of working time that could be used more profitably.

The trend is towards saws that no longer have a classic turntable, but are equipped with a moving support. In this case, the saw blade turns and not the workpiece. The advantage of this is the lower weight of the masses to be moved and distinctly higher precision of cuts: When the saw support makes all the movements, the complicated process of setting up the workpiece on the table is no longer necessary.
Also on the up is the electronic template, which can be loaded into the saw. This offers a large potential for saving time, which soon shows in the tight budget for kitchen production.

Besides the »classic« bridge saws, more and more manufacturers are developing saws equipped with attachments that offer far more than the normal scope of functions. Although attachments create more flexibility, the bridge saw is then always the »bottleneck« in production. If the saw is used with an attachment for machining, it is not available for sawing during this time.

There is an increasing focus on ›manless‹ production, even in small firms. The saw automatically works through time-consuming jobs at night and sawing jobs that need frequent changing of workpieces, simple milling or drilling are carried out during the day. Apart from simple kitchens or wall cladding, it must also be possible to produce exclusive products on the same machine.