The Amastone Blog
Ideas, experiences, tips, guides and more about stone and the glass working industries
Welcome to our blog where you’ll find ideas, tips, guides, interviews, news and product analysis for the stone and glass working industries.
Whether you are a marble or glass worker, stonemason, CNC operator or you simply want to explore the world of glass and stone, you’ll find something here for you.
Our articles are based on our own experience – as well as what we learn every day from our customers.
We want to share our knowledge with you. And we want to hear from you too! You can join the discussion by commenting at the bottom of each article.

Carveco brings ArtCAM back to life
CarveCo Ltd announced that it has reached an agreement to continue the development of the CAD/CAM software ArtCAM. A couple of days ago I’ve found an updated directly from the CarveCo team. We are close to the product launch for the beta release of the new software cad/cam CarveCo.



WIDIA AND POLYCRYSTALLINE BITS FOR MARBLE AND GRANITE
Industrial applications involving the cutting, turning and crushing of "hard" materials require tools made of "exceptionally hard" materials, of high hardness and high resistance to cutting temperatures. Widia and Polycrystalline tools are used for marble and granite cutting



MARMOMAC: GROWTH FOR INTERNATIONALITY AND QUALITY OF BUYERS (Official Press Release)
The marmomac 2018 fair in Verona was held 2 weeks ago. Another success certified by numbers. Below is the official press release of Veronafiere S.p.A.
Growth in attendance for operators from the United States, China, India and Russia;…



8 Reasons to attend the marmomac stone fair in Verona
Whether you are a marble worker, a designer or an engineer, there are many reasons why you should attend the international marmomac 2018 in Verona which will take place from 26 to 29 September.



CNC Tool Holders in the Marble and Glass Industry
If you are a CNC machine operator, you are certainly familiar with the use of tool holders which allow you to connect the various tools to the electrospindle of the CNC machine. In this post, we talk about CNC tool holders in the stone and glass industry, the main parts, the standards, the customizations and the maintenance



CNC ENGRAVINGS ON IRREGULAR SURFACES WITH FLATNESS CORRECTION
In CNC machining, having a function to compensate for the workpiece surface irregularities is essential.
A slab of wood, marble or any other material is never perfectly flat and the irregularities can undermine the final work when you need to make engravings and writings not so deep as to ignore the imperfections of the surface to work



CNC Vacuum Pods - 4 Common Problems and How to Resolve them
The CNC Vacuum Cups provide the safest holding system for Stone and Glass CNC machines. Stone fabricators often have to drill a marble slab or need to work the edges of a granite countertop, in all these cases the slab must be raised from the top of the table and must be properly held to not move during the machining. With a CNC Suction Cups’ System, this kind of jobs is done safely and faster than using brackets or other improvised clamping systems.



7 TECHNICAL QUESTIONS (AND ANSWERS) ABOUT OUR MARBLE CNC ROUTER
How precise is your CNC Router 3 axes? Why do you install stepper motors and not brushless motors (servomotors)?
What is the speed of the router? These are some of the most frequently asked questions by potential customers interested in a CNC Router machine.



Bas-relief production, how fast is my cnc router?
Have you ever wondered if your CNC machine is "fast enough" to perform a bas-relief?
Why the execution times of the same bas-relief, on the same type of marble, with the same tool and with the same cutting feed can differ from one machine to another?
And if I could finish the execution of a bas-relief in 3 hours rather than in 5 hours?
What changes between an economic CN and a professional one?



How to use marble CNC Electroplated Tools in the correct way
There are a lot of methods to work marble and stone with an electroplated tool but you have to take care of its life and its performances. Using a tool in a wrong way could cause wasting of time and money because the tool is not used at 100% or because it is not properly used. An electroplated tool can be used as long as the steel core is covered with its abrasive diamonds.



Alphacam CAD/CAM - Authorized Reseller
We are finally proud to announce that we became an official alphacam CAD/CAM software reseller.
Writings, engravings, bas-reliefs, kitchen tops, shower trays, columns and so on are all executable with CNC machines, but each work is different from the other due to different kinds of machines, dimensions and softwares.
After a long research and the testing of many softwares on the market, we decided to increase our knowledge of alphacam to install it into the machines of clients who deal with CNC building works, so those who need to realize kitchen tops, shower trays, sinks and so on.



ARTCAM HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED!
As of February 7, 2018, Autodesk will officially discontinue ArtCAM as an individual product. As of that date, there will not be any further releases or development for ArtCAM and product updates will no longer be delivered.
Customers who have an active ArtCAM subscription can continue to renew until July 7, 2018.



STONE CARVING TOOLS: THEIR HISTORY AND USES PRESENTED BY PETER ROCKWELL
I'm always looking for interesting posts and videos about the stone working to improve my knowledge and to share them with website visitors and clients.
I've found a great video, in my opinion, where the famous stone carver Peter Rockwell explains a lot about the carving tools



10 QUESTIONS ABOUT CNC VACUUM CUPS – AN INTERVIEW WITH SIMONE GIORGI
What is a vacuum clamping system for CNC machine and when a stone-worker needs to use it?
The vacuum clamping system is system of cups (pads) used every time it is requested to make a perimeter machining on the stone workpiece, this processing would be impossible with traditional clamps.



Effective flow chart to selecting Nicolai Diamant sintered finger bits
Nicolai Diamant offers a huge variety of sintered finger bits, all designed to offer the best performance in cutting and life span.
Marble-workers who choose the right finger bit succeed in their job because they are faster, they save money,…



USING A TOUCH PROBE FOR 3D SCANNING: TIPS AND TRICKS
One of the most interesting features related to the world of the CNC machines for processing marble and granite (but not only) is the 3D scanning.
Today almost all CNC softwares have a "scanning feature"; Check it on your machine.
Scanning allows to acquire the 3D shape of a solid object (marble, granite, glass, wood, etc.) and to create an STL file that can be used for the reproduction of the acquired form with a CNC machine.
3D scanning can be done basically in two ways: by using a laser scanner or a mechanical touch probe.