Optimization of limestone sawing using circular saws with reference to unit wear and energy

Natural stone processing operations use different methods and machines; however, the circular sawing machines are widely used in natural stone processing since they can be used flexibly. The wear on the diamond segments on the sawblade and energy consumption are the important parameters for these machines. Unit wear and unit energy should be minimized and the sawing rate should be maximized for optimum sawing condition. In this study sawing tests were performed on limestone samples using a fully automatic circular sawing machine. The tests were conducted at different peripheral speeds and advance rates. For each sawing test, the segment wear and consumed energy were measured. The statistical software, Design Expert 7.0 was used to analyze the test data. The new sawability charts for wear and energy were developed. The unique aspect of this study is to determine the optimum circular sawing performance with the special software and this technique also provides the prediction of unit wear and unit energy for selected sawing condition.