Customer-Driven Design Leads to Unique Inline Polishing Machine

Mark Lauzon 

Sasso USA

The Sasso Revolution machine incorporates new technology and a combination of 14 linear and toroidal spindles to produce a beautiful eased edge that’s comparable to one produced by hand, and is also considerably faster –processing up to 120 linear feet per hour.

Above: The Sasso Revolution machine incorporates new technology and a combination of 14 linear and toroidal spindles to produce a beautiful eased edge that’s comparable to one produced by hand, and is also considerably faster –processing up to 120 linear feet per hour.
The Sasso Revolution is capable of producing full bullnose, demi-bullnose, crescent, bevel and eased edges.

Above: The Sasso Revolution is capable of producing full bullnose, demi-bullnose, crescent, bevel and eased edges.
The Revolution machine by Sasso incorporates new micro-stabilization technology and a combination of 14 linear and toroidal spindles to produce a beautiful eased edge.

Above: The Revolution machine by Sasso incorporates new micro-stabilization technology and a combination of 14 linear and toroidal spindles to produce a beautiful eased edge.
The Viper 6-Step Inline Polishing System offers a versatile polishing wheel developed for use on fast machines. They perform at the speed and with the result the manufacturer intended, and can produce flat or eased edges. Braxton-Bragg recommends their Viper tooling as compatible with all Sasso machines.

Above: The Viper 6-Step Inline Polishing System offers a versatile polishing wheel developed for use on fast machines. They perform at the speed and with the result the manufacturer intended, and can produce flat or eased edges. Braxton-Bragg recommends their Viper tooling as compatible with all Sasso machines.

Wise manufacturers, regardless of which industry they serve, understand the critical role end-user feedback plays in product development and improvement. Sasso Meccanica, the industry leader in five-axis sawing and line machine technology, listened to fabricators when they designed the line machine destined to disrupt the industry — the Revolution.

The genesis of line machine technology began in the late 1960s, and any fabricator who’s ever tied on an apron knows that polishing a stone countertop edge, especially without the aid of water and modern abrasives, is a dusty, labor-intensive process. Early on, manufacturers sought to create a machine that would reduce the necessary labor, shorten processing times and produce a consistent quality product. And with the advent of the line machine, the once labor-intensive process of polishing stone countertop edges became little more than an exercise in material handling.

Today, more than five decades later, there are two common configurations for line machines: toroidal and flat.

Toroidal machines typically have fixed bevels at the beginning of the spindle group for pre-shaping, followed by six to eight additional spindles that move in a toroidal arc. Originally, toroidal machines were designed to process bullnose edges, but as motion control components grew in sophistication, a wider array of edge profiles became possible. Newer toroidal machines are equipped with encoders and PLCs that allow for advanced application functions such as profile memorization, stop polish and countertop rodding.

Another design dominating the market place is the flat machine, often referred to as a backsplash machine. Flat machines are usually equipped with five to ten vertically or, in the case of the Sasso FLAT series, horizontally orientated spindle heads for the rapid flat polishing of backsplash and countertops. This class of machine, while typically less expensive, has one drawback particularly for the North American market place: North American consumers overwhelmingly prefer a small radius as opposed to a small bevel applied to their countertop edges, so fabricators are left to form the radius edge, or roll, using hand tools.

Welcome to the Revolution

In designing the Revolution, Sasso engineers utilized a large frame from an existing toroidal machine and mounted a calibration spindle, two pre-shaping bevelers, a six head toroidal spindle group, a five head flat spindle group with a micro-oscillation beam, bringing the total spindle count to a staggering fourteen spindles! With this combination the toroidal spindle group can process the edge radius without pausing to polish the face. Eliminating the need for the toroidal spindle group to polish the face allows the machine to advance parts at an incredible twenty-four inches per minute. After the radius is applied the flat spindle group polishes the face, resulting in an exceptional quality eased edge.

This new class of machine exists as a direct result of analyzing market driven customer needs.
Sasso’s Revolution truly offers the best of both worlds: For shops needing to produce edges such as full bullnose, crescent, demi-bullnose and bevel, the Revolution is more than capable. And for shops wanting to process up to 120 linear feet per hour of polished eased edge, the 14-spindle Sasso Revolution makes it easy.

At the time of this article, Sasso has deployed three new Revolutions in the North American market with several more on order. If you need a beautifully polished eased edge, and a lot of it, then maybe it’s time to join the revolution. 

For more information on the Revolution machine visit the website www.sassousa.com.

The Viper 6-Step Inline Polishing System features proprietary TrifectaMate Technology, and is designed and engineered for high speed performance and the ultimate in high end gloss production. Call Braxton-Bragg 800-575-4401 for more information on the Viper 6-Step Inline Polishing System, available in five and six inch systems, or visit   www.braxton-bragg.com.