Process parameter control in marble slab cutting

Marble and granite are among the most commonly used materials in the field of building. They are characterized by mechanical or physical properties that allow for the production of both pleasant furnishing and building elements of high resistance, good functionality and long duration. Some examples include sculpture, flooring or sheathing. Stone-machining technologies have existed for a long time, but they still need to be optimized. The present work studies marble slab cutting by using two alternative technologies: diamond milling and abrasive water jet (AWJ). These are commonly used for tile cutting and contouring operations. The first one represents the technology traditionally used to produce machined marble. The second is a promising technology for marble-machining, even though some constraints must be taken into account. This work aims to compare diamond milling and AWJ in terms of cut efficiency and costs. An experimental approach was used to study the influence of some process variables, such as diamond mesh and concentration or water pressure and feed rate, on cutting efficiency. The experimental material used was the Perlato Royal of Coreno, a marble quarried in the central part of Italy. A statistical tool (analysis of variance, ANOVA) was used to quantify the empirical relationship between the process variables and the efficiency parameters. Last of all, some economical aspects were also studied. This study represents the first step in the control of the efficiency of marble slab cutting with the aim of optimizing the machining.