Granite - From the Quarry to Your Kitchen
Transportation from the quarry to the processing plant is different depending on the spot of the quarry. From our desert quarries in Namibia, many of the blocks trucked 1200 miles to our plant in South Africa. Other blocks are sent by truck to the port of Walvis Bay, Namibia and then transported by ship to Italy for processing. Upon arrival at the processing plant, blocks are selected for slicing. Employing 40 ton Gantry Cranes, the blocks are positioned on large trolley carts and pulled under the gang saws for slicing. The gang saws are massive machines. The massive blades are aligned and spaced on a massive carriage up to 18' extensive. Driven by electrical motors the carriage is pushed and pulled back and forth. Even though the blades are transferring, a chopping slurry comprised of metal grit and h2o is poured above the blocks to supply the abrasion for the chopping.
Completion of the block cutting needs among two-seven times (dependent on the hardness of the stone). The quality of the slicing is dependent on the abilities of the gang saw masters who are in demand of the slicing. Because of the variables in stone hardness, density, the slurry, blade tensioning, and chopping velocity, the sawing approach requires consistent checking by the masters. The tough lower slabs are then thoroughly cleaned with water and well prepared for the next stage of processing.
The next period is identified by the specific variety of stone. A lot of of the granites quarried right now go through an epoxy process to improve the quality of the stone. For instance, the big quartz crystals discovered in some granite have fissures or crazing to them. The truth is, if there weren't fissures it would not be quartz. These attributes are inherent to that mineral. These fissures are not problems, as we say in the stone business, "Mother Character doesn't make mistakes". Nonetheless, with today's epoxy technology, a better variety of exotic granites can be processed for counter tops.
The epoxy approach starts by loading the slabs into an oven to completely dry the stone and bring it to an even temperature before the epoxy is applied. Epoxy resin is poured and then troweled on in a thin layer in excess of the total area of the slab. Slabs are then rolled into a vacuum chamber drawing out any air pockets so the epoxy can penetrate deeply into the slabs. The epoxy is then oven remedied into really tough coating.
The polishing process is the same no matter of whether or not a slab has been epoxied. The polishing line is a extended conveyor-fed machine which sends the slabs under 21 separate grinding, then sharpening heads. The polish is achieved by a series of grits on rotating polishing heads commencing from a very coarse 60 grit diamond abrasive to 1800 grit sprucing bricks. When the epoxied slabs are polished, all the epoxy is floor from the surface. What stays is the epoxy that has penetrated underneath the surface into any fissures, pits or voids. Soon after quality inspection the slabs are completely ready to be bundled, loaded into a container and transported. Our showrooms are geared up to layout a bundle of a selected material so the buyer can truly decide their specific slabs. Comprehensive info about granite countertops Alpharetta, granite Alpharetta, granite countertops can be found at main website.
