tools

Stone Cutting Technology

[saving labor by creating a low-cost tool to cut standstone blocks]

[Summary & Motivation] [Community] [Specifications] [Issues] [Contacts] [Pictures]

Summary & Motivation	Project Initiator: ATS Start Date: 2005 Projected Completion Date: Not applicable Current Status: Ideas stage There has been a resurgence in the usage of sandstone as a building material in Lesotho recently. While some larger companies are using advanced stone cutting technology, many of the smaller businesses are still cutting the blocks by hand, which is a labor-intensive, expensive process. Each block must be chiseled several times to get it in the right shape, but high labor costs keep small businesses from being profitable. ATS is hoping to develop a solution in the form of a low-cost stone cutting machine for a cost of approximately 10,000 rand ($1,600), significantly lower than the current machine cost of 30,000 rand. The solution should be locally maintainable and simple to use. ATS has already identified a similar tool being developed at the Central University in Bloemfontain, but that machine requires a generator to power it. During a visit to a local stone cutting site, it could be seen that the cutting machines themselves had room for re-engineering. Most had a motor driving a blade through some sort of belt drive, with little to no gearing in usage. The blades themselves are diamond-tipped, and they usually last about one month. Each blade costs about 3,000 rand ($500). Several smaller sandstone cutting facilities have been developed through a Lesotho government initiative known as Vision 2020. The local communities are given stone-cutting machines, and, as soon as they start to make a profit, they must pay the government back for the machines. Such a scheme would be of greater benefit to the community if the machines were cheaper. [top]
Community	This technology would be marketed to small-scale stone cutting businesses which are currently unprofitable because of the high cost of labor. [top]
Specifications	Must cost less than or equal to 10,000 rand ($1,600) Must be powered using renewable energy sources Must cut sandstone blocks of at least 300mm x 120mm x 120mm Must be able to use current blade [top]
Issues	At this stage, little work has been done on this project. There are several areas in which one could get involved. Help is needed in the following areas: Analyzing current machines to determine how complexity could be reduced. Developing the energy source for this tool. Continuing to research ways to effectively cut stone blocks. Devising a way for small stone-cutting businesses to become more profitable while creating new jobs. [top]
Contacts	Project Leader: D.S. Phakisi MIT Contact: Amy Smith <bee17@MAC.com> ATS Contact: D.S. Phakisi <technoled@ilesotho.com> Website (If applicable):   [top]
Pictures	PICTURES Description (Name) [Date] Download Stone Cutting Facilities Photo Album Contains pictures from brief tour of Koalabata community sandstone cutting facilities (M. Zedler) [9.03.05] *.html (Link) [top]

*.pdf - Portable Document File / *.doc - Document (Microsoft Word) / *.jpg - Joint Photographic Experts Group (Browser) / *.zip - WinZip Compressed File (WinZip)

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