FR2720317A1 - Method of sawing hard materials - Google Patents

Abstract

The method of sawing material by an abrasive rod drives the abrasive rod into contact with the material to saw in two simultaneous movements. These movements comprise an alternate axial movement and a rotational movement about its axis. The machine for performing these operations is installed in a support frame with a carrying structure for the abrasive rod which allows the required rod movements. The rod carrier is fixed to the support frame so that displacement of the rod relative to the sawed material is assured by the movement of the material on a mobile carrying table. The rod is supported in its carrier at only one of its ends to which is coupled the motor unit which activates the rod movements.

Description

SAWING PROCESS, MACHINE FOR IMPLEMENTING SAME
AND ABRASIVE ROD USED IN SUCH A MACHINE
The present invention relates to techniques for sawing a hard material and more particularly rock substrates which will be conventionally called "materials" in the context of the present invention.

 Currently, sawing hard materials such as granite is carried out according to different modes of working processes.

 One of these, a traditional technique still most used in so-called "wire" machines, implements a cable stretched over a block of material to be sawn between pulleys, one of which is driven. In a first case, this cable consists of a helical metal wire which carries abrasive material such as silicon carbide, bound by water. In a second case, this cable is composed of diamond rings which allow faster sawing, cleaner and easier to implement. However, such a cable is of a high cost price because the diamond rings, devoid of a rotary movement, have irregular wear on their periphery and undergo by unilateral friction, premature tearing of the diamond grains.

 Another of them, used in a machine more commonly known under the name of "debtor", implements a disc mounted to rotate on an arm and / or a carriage ensuring its mobility. Such a disc is often limited in diameter so that the sawing or cutting depth is considerably restricted. Attempts to use discs in the form of rings of the order of five meters in diameter are currently under study, but lead to the same problems as the above-mentioned wire machines, namely their size, their weight, the cost of disc maintenance, etc.

 Another of them, used in a machine known more conventionally under the name of machine known as "chassis with moving blades", implements a series of parallel cutting blades suspended from a frame animated by a back and forth movement. along an axis parallel to that of said blades and combined with a progressive downward movement towards a block of material installed below. Such a machine is more intended for slicing a block to obtain thin plates. There are also horizontal or vertical single-diamond diamond frames, but their advantage over the sawing wire or the sawing machine is far from obvious.

 Another of them, used in a machine more conventionally known as a so-called "belt" machine, implements an endless blade which, entered around two idler pulleys, is externally provided with cutting members. .

 Another of them, used in a machine known more conventionally under the name of "chainsaw", implements a chain which, externally preferred by sharp links, is hampered around a guide supported at one of its ends in a support frame integrating a motor group actuating the rotation of the chain around its guide. Such a support frame can be mounted on an arm and / or a movable carriage, or even provided with a gripping member to be portable.

Such a machine called "chainsaw" for sawing wood "cutter" for sawing soft or semi-hard rocks, has not yet been used on hard materials such as granite
The main problem linked to the different sawing modes listed above results from the effort which the cutting organ must provide The power of this effort comes from the force which is normally necessary to penetrate the wire, the strip, the disc, the chain or the blades in a material. This power is therefore in line with the sawing speed and the hardness coefficient of the material of the block to be cut. However, the problems linked to developments in the working techniques described in each of the machines existing on the market therefore remain those linked to providing machine the necessary power of penetration of the cutting member into the material.

 The objective sought in the sawing process of the invention imagined by the applicants is to obviate the problems of the previous working modes which generate a cumbersome implementation, a heavy investment, an imposing infrastructure, significant sawing times, irregular and therefore premature wear of the cutting organ, etc.

 To meet their objectives, the applicants have therefore imagined a sawing process from an abrasive rod, in which the force necessary for the penetration of the abrasive rod into the material is mainly developed by the combination of two movements applied to said blade, it being understood that the positioning movements proper of the latter ensuring its guiding of the cutting profile are not to be taken into account.

According to the invention, the sawing method of the type using that of an abrasive rod, is remarkable in that it consists in applying to said blade, simultaneously:
- on the one hand, an alternating rectilinear axial movement,
- and on the other hand, a rotary movement around its axis.

 The main advantage of such a sawing mode is to give the abrasive rod two movements, both ensuring the wear of the material to be sawn so that the power required to ensure the penetration of the blade into the material can be less, thus ensuring regular wear of / and over the entire length of the blade. This therefore results in shorter sawing times, more regular and therefore slower wear of the tool and consequently a lower cost price for higher efficiency.

 The applicants have also imagined an original embodiment of a machine respecting the fundamental concepts of this sawing process.

According to the invention, such a machine comprises, in its general configuration, arranged on a support frame:
- an abrasive rod intended to come into contact with the material to be sawed,
a support structure of the abovementioned abrasive rod making it possible to ensure the sawing movements of said blade, independently of the support frame,
- And a motor unit allowing to animate the abovementioned abrasive rod with an alternating movement of axial translation combined with a rotary movement around its axis.

 Thanks to the machine of the invention implementing the two combined sawing movements, it is therefore possible for an abrasive rod to penetrate a block of hard material and this, with a high working efficiency for a given given power. In addition, the fact of having a greater sawing capacity by the multiplicity of movements applied directly to the rod, allows, from the general configuration just mentioned and as will be seen in more detail below, materialize different forms of machine construction in the most diverse fields of application. Indeed, the sawing effort being mainly focused on the duplicity of the rod movements, this results in an immediate consequence on the considerable lightening of the frame -support of the machine whose primary role is to ensure the logical structure of the organs necessary for the operation of the rod.

 Also, depending on the hardness of the material to be sawn, several types of machines can be imagined.

 The embodiments which will be described below are in their most elementary form in order to image, by way of illustrative and nonlimiting example, the different categories of machines which can be scaffolded on the basis of the sawing process of the 'invention.

 According to a first embodiment of the machine of the invention, the support structure of the abrasive rod is mounted movable relative to the support frame so that said support structure ensures the displacements of the rod relative to the material to be sawn . This configuration which is more particularly suitable for sawing blocks of hard material is intended for machines whose support structure is installed independently of the support frame. The object of the movements of the support structure relative to the support frame is then to guide the rod in its sawing pattern.

 According to a second embodiment of the machine of the invention, the support structure of the abrasive rod is mounted fixed relative to the support frame so that the movements of the rod relative to the material to be sawn are ensured by mobility of the entire support frame. This configuration is more particularly intended for portable machines when the support frame is fitted with gripping members (of the type of those equipping chainsaws) or mounted on an arm and / or a carriage provided with a mechanism ensuring their mobility. The purpose of the movements of the entire support frame is then to guide the rod in its sawing pattern. Such machines are often used for sawing less bulky blocks and preferably in soft or semi-hard material.

 An adaptation can be made to this second embodiment to ensure the penetration of the rod into the material and the particular sawing pattern by installing said material on a support table provided with a mechanism ensuring its mobility relative to the assembly. of the support frame.

 According to a particularly advantageous characteristic of the invention preferably adaptable to machines according to the second case for the purpose of sawing soft or semi-hard material, the abovementioned abrasive rod can be supported in the support structure at only one of its ends on which is coupled to the motor unit ensuring at said rod, the sawing operation according to a reciprocating rectilinear axial movement combined with a rotary movement. Such a machine finds immediate application for cutting in quarries. In addition, when it is designed to be portable, it will be unquestionably easy to use.

 According to another particularly advantageous characteristic of the invention adaptable to machines according to the first or second case for the purpose of sawing harder material, the abovementioned abrasive rod is on the one hand, supported in the carrying structure by its two ends and on the other hand, is coupled to the motor unit ensuring at said blade, the sawing operation according to a reciprocating rectilinear axial movement combined with a rotary movement.

 The invention also relates to original abrasive rods which, which can be used in machines implementing the original sawing method, offer the following embodiment characteristics.

 According to a first object of the invention, the abrasive rod is mounted interchangeably in its support structure, relative to the motor unit. This interchangeability makes it possible to replace a worn rod or to install in the machine abrasive rods of different particle size according to the material to be sawn or according to the desired level of finish. Thus, abrasive rods with increasingly fine grains can succeed one another in the same saw cut so as to simultaneously polish the two faces of the material to be sawed.

 According to another object of the invention, the abrasive rod is entirely or partially covered on its periphery with abrasive concretions which, depending on the use or the hardness of the material, can be either bonded, or fixed by electrolytic deposition, or brazed in the case of sintered diamond segments, or included in a flexible binder to allow the adaptation of successive rods to the width of the first saw cut.

 According to another object of the invention, the abovementioned abrasive rod is tubular and mounted movable according to the two sawing movements (reciprocating and rotary) while the central part acting as a spindle remains fixed and supports the abrasive tube over its entire length. if it is only supported in the supporting structure at one of its ends.

 It is understood that the process, the machines and the rods intended for sawing hard, semi-hard or soft material, which have just been described above in their general principle, have been for the purpose of a disclosure rather than a 'a limitation. Of course, various arrangements, modifications and improvements may be made to the examples above, without however departing from the scope of the invention taken in its broadest aspects and spirit.

Claims (10)

 1. Sawing process from an abrasive rod, CHARACTERIZED IN THIS THAT it consists in animating the above-mentioned abrasive rod in contact with the material to be sawn with two simultaneous movements, namely:  - on the one hand, an alternating rectilinear axial movement,  - and on the other hand, a rotary movement around its axis.  2. Machine making it possible to implement the sawing method according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT it comprises installed in a support frame:  - at least one abrasive rod intended to be in progressive contact with the material to be sawn,  a support structure of the abovementioned abrasive rod making it possible to ensure the sawing movements of said rod, independently of the support frame,  - And a motor unit allowing to animate the abovementioned abrasive rod with an alternating movement of axial translation combined with a rotary movement around its axis.  3. Machine according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the aforesaid supporting structure of the abrasive rod is mounted movable relative to the support frame so that it ensures the displacements of the rod relative to the material to be sawn.  4. Machine according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the aforesaid supporting structure of the abrasive rod is fixedly mounted relative to the support frame so that the displacements of the rod relative to the material to be sawn are ensured by mobility of the entire support frame.  5. Machine according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the aforesaid supporting structure of the abrasive rod is mounted fixed relative to the support frame so that the displacements of the rod relative to the material to be sawn are ensured by mobility of the latter installed on a mobile carrier table.  6. Machine according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the abovementioned abrasive rod is supported in the carrying structure at only one of its ends on which is coupled the motor unit ensuring to said rod, the sawing operation according to an axial movement alternative rectilinear conjugate with a rotary movement.  7. Machine according to claim 2, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the abovementioned abrasive rod is supported in the carrying structure by its two ends and is coupled to the motor unit ensuring at said rod, the sawing operation according to a conjugate reciprocating rectilinear axial movement with a rotary movement.  8. Abrasive rod used in the machine according to any one of claims 2 to 7, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT it is mounted interchangeably in its support structure and relative to the motor unit.  9. Abrasive rod according to claim 8, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT it is entirely or partially covered on its periphery with abrasive concretions with particular profiles to wear in a rotational movement on the one hand and in a reciprocating rectilinear axial movement on the other hand, is intended to be coupled to at least one from its ends to the aforesaid motor power unit of the machine.  10. Abrasive rod according to claim 9, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT the aforesaid rod covered with abrasive concretions is tubular and mobile according to the two movements of the said sawing process while the central part acts as a spindle.