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The Combicut wins two-nil for operator safety and cutting quality

Robotic solutions for slab cutting, contouring and polishing have recently entered stone shops claiming to be the new future.
But after careful analysis, the Breton Combicut, the most appreciated wheel-waterject combi cutting machine on the market, still turns out to be the most economic and safe option.

Operator safety
Solutions with an anthropomorphic robot that are wholly or partially lacking any barrier or guard are rather common: in such cases, the operator may access the working area even while the robot is operating. Insufficient safety guarding also exposes the operator to the risk of being hit by fragments produced by the accidental detachment of material or tool parts. The risk of accidents is very high.

The Combicut working and safety areas overlap and are well defined by a closed perimeter on all four sides with safety barriers at human height, which prevent operator access while the machine is operating and remove any chance of being hit by fragments produced by the accidental detachment of material or tool parts.

Cutting accuracy in linear and 45° miter cuts
The Combicut features a bridge-like rigid structure with an 8,000-kg mass; tool stresses are homogeneously transferred to the traverse bridge, which is integral with the sliding side shoulders, regardless of the spindle position. The cutting tool is very close to the beam, therefore bending is virtually unnoticeable, mechanical joints are minimized and rigidity is ensured in time. This results in excellent quality and accuracy, both in linear and miter cuts.

An anthropomorphic cutting robot is basically an “asymmetrical” structure, very light and cantilevered; as such, it doesn’t cope very well with cutting stresses, especially the higher the tool distance from the central body. The number of unsupported joints (arm, wrist, tip) is high (at least 5).

An anthropomorphic cutting robot has no linear axes, because its purpose is to work in “space”, and is therefore forced to continuously interpolate all axes. In a simple linear cut, an anthropomorphic robot simultaneously moves all axes (generally 6), to virtually create a linear movement.
The higher the number of variables to be monitored, the more error margin accumulates, resulting in poor quality cuts even in very simple machining operations.

Comparison between Combicut and Anthropomorphic Cutting Robot

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