
CNC Stone Tools: Explore Tools and Accessories Designed to Deliver Optimum Results!
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Fabrication and construction projects require precise and durable machinery. Customers expect a completed job timely and accurately, meaning the tools used must be sufficient to handle the job. Computer Numerical Control tools (CNC stone tools) are used for stone, concrete, marble, quartzite, granite and engineered man-made surfaces. Let’s discuss how high-quality parts and tools can create an outstanding polished surface as well as increase your productivity.
CNC Stone Tools: A Breakdown
Below is the range of CNC tools and their purpose. All of them are used on concrete, granite, and marble stone surfaces:
Routers: Routers are used for profiling and polishing the edges of stone slabs used for countertops.
CNC Core Drills: These are used to make precise holes quickly and with minimal chipping. There are different sizes to choose from for different-sized holes.
Recess and Stubbing Wheels: The wheels mill the stones down to a desired thickness. They are also used to create a recessed drainer to control excess water flow.
Fluting Wheels and Tips: These are used to make draining grooves and grinding decorative flutes.
Engraving and LED Groove Routers: These are made for engraving and making grooves (different sizes and shapes) in the stones.
Profile Tools: These tools also create decorative shapes on the stone's edge. There are many to choose from to get the right edge.
Tool Holder Cones: These are the cone shaped holders that the diamond tooling mount to. They allow the machine spindle to pick up the tool and align it properly with the edge.
CNC Tool Cabinet Trollies: These allow for safe and protective storage of the tooling assets. They are available in cabinets and rolling cart tables.
CNC Vacuum pods: Vacuum pods are double sided pods that sit between the material and the CNC table. They create a vacuum hold so that the material does not move while the profile wheels shape the stone. Well known brands are Blick, BVC and IMS.
CNC Tool Forks: These tool forks hold the CNC tool holder cones, with the diamond profile wheels,at the edge of the machine table. The CNC is programmed to know where to go to pick up the next tool out of the fork.
Adaptors: They allow for different-sized tools to work on CNC machines.
CNC Surface Polishing: These wheels create different surface textures like a brushed antiqued surface or a leather surface.
CNC Sink tools: These tools shape and polish the inside radius of the sink. They come in different diameters in order to have different size radius sink corners.
CNC Saw Blades: These are the blades used to cut through stone. These blades will cut the slab of stones into the rough shapes that eventually will become several countertops.
3D optical measuring systems: These will automatically provide all the necessary measurements for tool setup. The CNC must know the size and shape of the tool. This info, along with the exact placement of the material on the table, allow the machine to know exactly where to touch, cut, drill, shape and polish the stone. Zares, Optimo, Zoller, Speroni and Omega are a few of the more well known brand names.
What Distinguishes Tait Sales & Consulting Tooling and Machinery Solutions from Others?
Tait Sales & Consulting offers industry-leading diamond blades, standard core bits, reverse thread core bits, profile wheels, standard incremental bits, reverse-thread incremental bits, and mandrels in both standard and reverse thread. We also offer all types of peripheral tools such as Z wheels, Super-Z wheels, stubbing or hogging wheels, finger bits and miter bits. These tools are great for use on both CNC routers as well as CNC 5-axis Bridge saws. Our CNC stone tools collection comes from the industry's top brands like OMA, Zenesis, Diteq and Apexx. Few fabrication suppliers can compete with Tait Sales & Consulting and the CNC stone tools we offer.
What are the Classifications of CNC Stone Tools?
There are seven categories of essential CNC stone tools. They are as follows:
- Engraving Router Bits: They are used with CNC stone routers and come in solid carbide, electroplated, or polycrystalline. The bits are 10mm and have a cylindrical shaft fitting for a spindle with an adaptor or ER collet system. They are used in marble relief finishing, lettering, and engraving.
- Router Bits for stone or relief carving are part of CNC Stone carving tools built for tougher engravings. They are made for roughing or stone carving before the final phase. They have 1/2 gas or 10 and 14mm cylindrical connections. Marble carving tools come electroplated, while granite carving tools are Polycrystalline or sintered diamond.
- Finger Bits: These bits are made for cutting with a CNC machine and work from the side. Cutting the material requires a hole drilled with a core drill bit if a cut is necessary inside the material. The cut begins at the hole drilled into the material. The bits are exceptional, with a diamond base for incremental cutting. There are replaceable bit tips for marble cutting in incremental cutting. They come electroplated and sintered. The finger thread is 1/2 gas with various end mills with cylindrical shafts.
- Stubbing Wheels: These are made for grinding and are diamond wheels. It is designed to remove materials and slab calibration. They come in different diameters, and fitting is a flange. It takes a cone for stubbing wheels or an adaptor 1/2 gas to flange.
- Profile Wheels: These are made for polishing and shaping profiles for bathrooms and kitchen tops. They are electroplated or sintered and can form various profiles.
- Diamond core drill bits: The drill bits make different-sized holes with the CNC machines. There are 1/2 gas fittings through holes, and they have a 10mm shank fitting.
- Drainboard Tools: These make drip lines and grooves in the kitchen tops. They have fluting bits of 10mm and 12mm diameters. The circular blades create 15mm wide groves.
What Varieties of CNC Stone Tools are Available?
These are the different CNC stone tools listed:
- Routers
- Core Drills
- Recess/Stubbing Wheels
- Fluting Wheels/Tips
- Engraving/ LED Groove Routers
- Profile Tools
- Tool Holder Cones
- Tool Cabinet Trollies
- Tool Forks
- Adaptors
- Surface Polishing Tools
- Square Sink Tools
- Saw Blades
What Materials are Used to Make CNC Stone Tools?
- Carbide: A Combination of Tungsten and Carbon, made heat, rust, and scratch resistant, and last longer in extreme conditions compared to steel cutting tools.
- Carbon Steel: Affordable with High Machinability, a steel alloy with 1.6 percent manganese by weight and 1 percent carbon, perfect for CNC low-speed machining, perfect for metals like magnesium, brass, and aluminum
- Man-Made Industrial Diamonds: These are lab grown, can be precisely placed into the diamond segment to make them cut more efficiently. These diamond segments can cut through marble, granite, concrete, quartzite and any stone or man-made surface materials. They are made to cut very hard and dense materials that no other types of tools can cut.
- High-speed Steel: High Temperature/Abrasion Resistance with Durability, same as carbon but with these extra materials: tungsten, molybdenum, vanadium, and cobalt. They are used to cutting nonferrous and ferrous metals and continuous high-speed cutting.
- Ceramic: Offers Heat/Corrosion Resistance/chemically stable and does not react with other metals as workpieces. They have a high cutting efficiency and are perfect for semi and high-speed finishing on cast iron, hard steels, and superalloys.
How to Select the Appropriate Tool for CNC?
- List the Materials You Will Use: A visual on the materials list will help ensure a complete picture of what is used in the process. Knowing the materials used to do a project will determine the tool needed to complete the job.
- Check the CNC Device You Employ: Each CNC device is equipped to handle different attachments. Having a suitable machine will ensure the right attachments and fixtures to use. For example, one would not put a router on for a cutting device, or vice-versa. They would use the proper machines and tools.
- Type of Processing to be Performed: Knowing the job and what it entails is critical to know which tool is needed for a specific project.
- Ensure the Right Accuracy or Level of Finish: This step speaks for itself, as applying the proper finish will take skill and experience. The user will not want a rough device or grade to deliver a smooth finish if it is a touch-up finish.
- Make Your Choice Based on Quality and Speed: The right-sized tools and power are adequate to know how to get a job done. For example, the user would not take oversized equipment to do a small five-minute job. They would use a decent-sized power tool or do the job with regular hand tools.