11 - Fevereiro - 2025

The importance of the granite sector in the Galician economy is fundamental. The Galician granite industry is the 2nd most important in Europe (after Italy) and the 5th in the world, ahead of powers such as Belgium, Portugal or Germany.

In this context, the DIAMANTE project represents an opportunity for Galicia to increase production and improve the competitive situation of the natural stone production sector, after years of relocation to countries with lower labor costs, thanks to an innovative control system developed for multithread cutting machines for granite blocks. Specifically, DIAMANTE proposes the development of a solution capable of analyzing the reality of the cutting process thanks to the implementation of advanced sensorization and control systems, under the paradigm of Industry 4.0.

The objective of DIAMANTE is the improvement of the main factors affecting the process, which in this case are the consumption of diamond wire (main cost factor of consumables) and the inherent costs of multiwire machines in downtime due to breakdowns and unforeseen failures. As an example, a company with a monthly production of about 45,000 m2 of laminated granite loses about 150,000 euros for each day of stoppage. As for the cost of the diamond wire, it can represent about 40-50k€/month..

Therefore, DIAMANTE proposes a solution based on the Industry 4.0 paradigm, allowing greater control of all the parameters of the cutting machines, which will lead to an improvement in production, a reduction in waste that will transform the process into a more environmentally friendly one, with an increase in the added value of the product and an improvement in production costs.

During the second year of the project (December 2018 – September 2019), actions have been carried out for the sensorization and control of the cutting wire. These actions have focused on the installation of colorimetric sensors and artificial vision cameras together with modifications in the cutting wire to facilitate its correct detection.

With the installation of these sensors and the pertinent modifications in the wire, it is intended to control different important points both for the control of the correct stone cutting and for the correct operation of the wire, being able to measure and report key parameters such as rotation, speed or wire wear.

With the measurement of wire wear, it is possible to calculate the useful life of the wire and perform preventive maintenance, indicating when the wire wear is incompatible with its continuation in the cutting process and must be changed. In addition, with the control of the rest of the cutting parameters that could not be measured until now, such as the correct rotation of the wire during cutting so that the wire suffers uniform wear and the control of possible slippage or tensioning problems, it is possible to increase the useful life and improve the cutting of the wire, also avoiding marks on the stone during cutting that make them need to be repaired before being sold.

DIAMOND CONSORTIUM

To achieve the above objectives, the Galician companies of the DIAMANTE consortium cover the entire value chain of project activities and form a multidisciplinary group with the complementary know-how necessary for the proper execution of the project:

NODOSAFER, leader of the project, is an international benchmark in the manufacture of industrial stone cutting machines and its equipment is one of the best performing cutting wire. NODOSAFER has a wide experience in R&D projects related to its products.

SYSPRO is an engineering company focused on the integration of technologies in the field of automation, industrial software, robotics, artificial vision and advanced sensorization and has made a qualitative leap in recent years in R&D initiatives.

WDIAMANT is a developer of diamond cutting wire for the natural stone sector, with extensive experience in R&D projects related to its products, established in the world market and with a high volume of exports.

GRANISA is the end user and ultimate recipient of the technology developed in DIAMANTE. It is the 5th company in added value in the sector in Galicia. It will contribute its experience in granite transformation and will implement the solutions in a real environment for pre-industrial validation.

With the aim of promoting innovative activity within the companies, strengthening their international leadership capacity, improving their competitive position and complementing the developments of the project, the consortium will be supported by the AIMEN Technology Center, an entity with proven experience in artificial vision, monitoring, industrial control and advanced data processing activities.

PROJECT FINANCING:

The DIAMANTE project, framed in the CONECTAPEME 2018 program, is funded by the Xunta de Galicia through the Axencia Galega de Innovación (GAIN) and the support of the Consellería de Economía, Emprego e Industria and is co-financed by FEDER Funds under Axis 1 of the Feder Galicia 2014-2020 operational program.