Quarry & Extraction
Gang Saw
A gang saw is a multi-blade frame saw used in stone processing plants to cut an entire block into slabs in a single pass, using steel-shot abrasive slurry or diamond-tipped blades. The saw type (shot saw vs. diamond multi-wire) affects surface texture, dimensional tolerance, and production speed. Saw marks from shot-blade gang saws require additional grinding before polishing.
The block sits on a trolley under a heavy frame that holds dozens of parallel blades, set apart by the slab thickness. The frame moves back and forth while it sinks slowly into the block. For marble and other soft stones, the blades carry diamond segments; for granite, plain steel blades work with a slurry of water, lime and steel shot that does the cutting.
A gang saw is slow, and a granite block can take days, but it cuts the whole block at once into slabs of even thickness. Each cut turns a few millimeters of stone into slurry, so the blade and the slab thickness together decide how many square meters a block yields. Many plants now cut granite on multi-wire saws, while diamond gang saws are still common for marble.
In Noria Strata
In Noria Strata the block goes into the saw and the slabs come out with name, photo and label, with each block's yield in m² per m³, its waste and its cost.