Material Handling Equipment for Natural Granite
Working in the stone industry would be virtually impossible if there was no material handling equipment for natural granite. Natural granite slabs are very heavy and even though they can be moved, loaded, and positioned without equipment, it is much easier with it. In this article we will take a brief look at natural granite and discuss what kinds of machines make working with it easier.
Natural Granite Variety
When talking about natural granite colors, porosity, and even grades, it becomes clear that the options are many. Natural granite forms all over the planet. Due to variables that affect that color and texture of the stone, there are a range of granite colors including:
- Absolute Black
- Cambrian Black
- Galaxy Black
- Marinace Black
- Pearl Black
- Black Impala
- Midnight Sun
- Orinoco
- Ubatuba
- Nordic Sunset
- Amazon Gold
- Blue Eyes
- Baltic Brown
- Labradore Antique
- Nara Brown
- Santa Cecilia
- Sapphire Brown
- Tan Brown
- Toasted Almond
- Tropical Brown
- Baltic Red
- Dakota Mahogany
- Nordic Sunset
- Amazon Gold
- Antique Yellow
- Carioca Gold
- Giallo Napolean
- Giallo Ornamental
- Golden Lightning
- Venetian Gold
- Silver Galaxy
- Mount Airy
- Rockville White
- Iguana Green
- Delicatus Ice
- Azul Bahia
- Blue Pearl
- Volga Blue
- Alaskan White
- Bianco Antico
- Kashmir White
- Luna Pearl
- Santa Cecilia
- White Delicatus
- Emerald Pearl
- Marinace Green
- Seaweed Green
- Green Galaxy
- Verde Butterfly
- Verde Lavras
- Columbia Pink
- Juperana Colombo
- Pink Westerly
- Rosa Beta
- Salisbury Pink
- Violetta
As you can see from that list, there are a number of colors of natural granite. Furthermore, that is not an all inclusive list of colors.
In addition to color variety, natural granite is also available in an array of densities. The denser the stone the less porous and the porosity level contributes to the ability of a stone to stain.
Handling Granite Materials
Even though (as we have established) there are a number of different natural granite surface colors and textures, they are handled in the same ways. No matter what color of natural granite surface you are working with, it will need to be lifted, loaded, positioned, and transported. That is why there are various categories of material handling equipment available to help stone professionals maneuver slabs while fabricating and installing stone.
Stone Lifting Equipment
Lifting natural granite slabs is not light work. In fact granite slabs often weigh hundreds of pounds and then some. Therefore, many fab shops use
lifter clamps that are designed to grip the slab as it is raised up in the air. Lifting clamps attached to a fork lift boom allow the stone to be carried from one are of the shp th another.
Additionally, for stone professionals that prefer to use a suction to lift materials, there are a number of
stone vacuum lifting machines made for lifting stone. This kind of equipment uses airflow to generate a suction strong enough to hold the slab in place while being moved or positioned.
Granite A Frames
Working with stone in the shop is just a portion of what goes into handling stone slabs whether the stone is natural granite or any one of the many materials used for hard surfaces. For example, utilizing a-frame carts in the shop make the work simpler in a lot of cases.
Single-sided A-frame Carts
One way of making the work simpler is by using
single-sided a-frame carts against a wall as holding units for specific machines. Having a single-sided a-frame cart strategically placed adjacent to a CNC machine or a bridge saw so that the granite for queued jobs is right next to the work station it will be used on.
Double-sided A-frame Carts
Using
double-sided a-frame carts in the shop is another effective way to make the work simpler. These offer the same benefits as their single sided counterparts except they are symmetrical. Thus, they can be placed in between two machines or in another particular spot that would benefit from accessibility of both sides.
Truck A Frame Transport Racks
Transporting stone slabs in a truck can seem like it is an impossible task. However, with an
a-frame rack designed for truck use, the task doesn't have to be daunting.
So even though natural granite comes in a wide variety of colors and grades, it is handled in the same manner as other hard surface materials. Having the right material handling equipment for the task makes the job easier and produces better results.
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