GB2250947A - Stone cutting and polishing machine - Google Patents

Abstract

A stone cutting and polishing machine has a frame 1 provided with legs 2 supporting a platform 3 hinged on a longitudinal axis 4 to move between a near-vertical position for the reception of the stone and a horizontal operating position. Longitudinal guides 10 along the edge of the bed 3 allow a bridge 11 to move under the drive of a motor 12. A head moves transversely across the bridge 11 and carries a cutting head 22 and polishing head 23 which can be caused to approach the stone on the bed by means of hydraulic cylinders and the cutting head can be turned between a longitudinal and a transverse position under the control of a pneumatic cylinder 26. <IMAGE>

Description

CUTTING AND POLISHING MACHINE Stone from the quarry is usually of Irregular shape which requires to be cut into a block, usually with rectangular faces, and those faces often require to be polished. Known machines provide a frame with a transverse bridge carrying a cutting head and means for transporting sheets under the bridge relative to the cutting head in order to effect cutting and, if necessary, polishing. Such machines are often of complex structure and high cost and the means to transport the stone under the bridge takes up a lot of space.

The present invention aims to overcomes these disadvantages and provides as machine as set out in Claim 1.

An example of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a cutting and polishing machine, Figure 2 is a side perspective view, Figure 3 is a plan of the machine of Figure 1, Figure 4 is an end elevation of the machine of Figure 1, and Figure 5 is a perspective of a detail of the machine of Figure 1.

A frame 1 is supported on a leg 2 at each corner and has longitlldinal vides 10 on opposite sides. A transverse bridge 11 is mounted for movement along the guides 10 and itself contains a transverse guide for a cutting head 22 on one side and a polishing head 23 on the other side. A bed 3 comprising a plurality of transverse rails 9 is hingedly mounted to the frame along a hinge axis 4 under the control of a hydraulic cylinder 8 (see Figure 4). The rails 9 at the ends remote from the hinge axis 4 overlie a longitudinal member 5 of the frame 1 to support the bed in its horizontal position.Stops 6 are provided at the ends of the rails 9 adjacent the hinge axis 4 in order to retain on the bed a block of stone when the bed 3 is hinged towards its near-vertical position.

As can be seen in Figure 2, the rails 9 stop short of one end of the machine at which a motor with reduction gearing 12 is mounted for driving the bridge 11 along the guides 10. The bridge 11 can be driven to this end of the machine adjacent the electric motor 12 so that the bed 3 can be hinged from its horizontal towards its near-vertical position without obstruction from the bridge 11. The stone to be cut and polished can be loaded on to the bed when in its near-vertical position so that it slides down the rails 9 to the stops 6. The bed is then hinged back to its horizontal position under the control of the hydraulic cylinder 8 until the ends of the rails 9 are supported by the longitudinal member 5. The bridge 11 is then moved down the guides 10 under the control of the motor 12.The bridge 11 has anchorage plates 17 with clamps 16 securing them to belts 15 running over pulleys 14 driven by motor 12 through axle B, as is shown in Figure 5.

A monitoring and control panel 28 is mounted on the side of the bridge 11 as shown in Figure 2 and the electrical connections thereto are connected through the chain 27 to avoid damage to those connections as the bridge 11 moves along the guides 10.

A mobile head 18 moves transversely along the bridge 11 along transverse guides on the bridge 11, under the control of a motor 21 driving a belt 19 running over pulleys 20 which correspond in operation to the pulleys 14 and belt 15 already described. The cutting head 22 drives a cutting tool 24 and hydraulic cylinders are provided for raising and lowering the tool relative to the bed 3. Similarly, the polishing head 23 has a corresponding tool 25 which is similarly raised and lowered by a hydraulic cylinder relative to the bed 3. A pneumatic cylinder 26 hinges the cutting head 22 through 900 on a vertical axis to allow the cutting disk to move between a position longitudinally of the bed through to a position transversely of the bed. When a longitudinal cut is being made, the cutting head 22 will be fixed on the bridge 11 which will move longitudinally along the guides 10 as the cut progresses. When the cut is transverse, the cutting head 22 will move along the bridge 11 under the control of the belt 19 passing over the pulleys 20, the bridge 11 being fixed on the guides 10.

Claims (4)

CLAIPfi :

1. A cutting and polishing machine for stone panels comprising a supporting frame formed with longitudinal guide means, a bed for supporting without relative movement a stone to be cut and polished, said bed being mounted without translational movement relative to said frame, a bridge arranged to move along said guide means and itself provided with transverse guide means and cutting and polishing means mounted for movement along said transverse guide means.

2. A machine as claimed in Claim 1 wherein said bed is hingedly mounted to said frame along an axis longitudinally thereon for hinging between a horizontal position and a near-vertical position.

3. A machine as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 ccmprising means for mounting the cutting means for adjustment between a longitudinal and a transverse cut in a stone on the bed.

4. A cutting and polishing machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.