Professional methods of concrete sawing and drilling are prevalent in countries like USA, Japan, Australia and Europe. In India, it is actually still a young but growing industry. Because of a higher shelling out for infrastructure projects and residential & commercial construction, India holds tremendous potential regarding diamond tools and concrete sawing and drilling.
Another critical factor inducing the adoption of those sophisticated methods may be the constantly rising labour costs. In the last decade, concrete and construction industry has experienced sharp increases in labor rates and overhead expenses. Considering the high labor and expenses linked to most sawing and cut to length machine, the pace with which the job is carried out is now vital. Using outdated cutting &drilling techniques and drilling equipment that heavily will depend on guessing and operator experimentation only result in waste of time and money. Today, in order to remain competitive, the contractors are under pressure to embrace modern-day types of concrete sawing & drilling.
“The market for floor saws, wall saws and high powered drilling machines will be in a nascent stage today but growing at about 40% per year as the fee for labor rises, the usage of machines to increase work and increase productivity and quality of work boosts phenomenally. Presently about 600 machines Floor Saws, Wall Saws and High Powered Drilling Machines happen to be in operation. Low Powered Handheld Drilling and sawing are in many thousands in fact it is tough to give even an approximate number.” – M.Venkatesh, Executive Director, Diabu Diamond Tools
Professional diamond concrete cutting systems can offer significant advantages over conventional concrete removal methods. Such as reduced downtime, precision cutting, upkeep of structural integrity, reduced noise, dust and debris, limited-access cutting, and the ability to cut heavily-reinforced concrete.
There are only a few organized players within the core cutting arena. A lot of them are extensions of worldwide manufacturers like Hilti, TYROLIT, Husqvarna and Diabu. As in any other industry, the current market is flooded with Chinese equipment and fly by night traders who sell low priced, poor quality machines from China with the purpose of making quick money. These appliances, however, do not have post sales support nor would be the machines suited and built to function in the Indian environment. Mr. Akhil Jain, authorized and exclusive distributor of Husqvarna’s power tools in India says, “Users with low budget prefer to get poor Chinese makes only wind up spending more on repairs.”
Regarding manufacturing facilities in India, only about 25% are produced indigenously, the others imported and also the bulk provided by China. Hilti which acquired Bhukhanvala Diamond Systems during 2010 is using it its manufacturing facility to increase develop and expand the development facility for diamond tools and disks and also to strengthen its position from the Indian diamond consumables market.
“HILTI was the pioneer in introducing diamond coring technology in India. Over the last 5 to 10 years, the technology has matured to your stage where even on residential sites, coring is definitely the preferred technology for fast, vibration-free penetrations. We currently see the market for coring at more than 50 crores.” Shyam Raghunandan, Head Marketing, Hilti India
Manval Goel, Business Head – Construction at TYROLIT India Superabrasives Tools believes the industry measurements of controlled concrete dismantling in India is near to INR 120 crores. This can include branded and unbranded market too. TYROLIT has a wide array of core cutting electric, hydraulic and petrol driven machines. TYROLIT’s machines are capable of doing drilling up to 1000 mm diameters. Its Ultimate Drilling Machine (UDM) is really a self-propelled gasoline driven transformer core cutting machine highly appropriate for drilling at runways. TYROLIT has 27 Global Production Units as well as its core cutting machines and drills are produced in Switzerland, Austria, U.S.A. and also other parts of the world. These appliances have a manufacturing warranty of 12 months. Also these are generally quite sturdy machines and require suprisingly low mainte-nance. TYROLIT’s Unique Service Concept provides a number of the service requirement at site to manage emergency Breakdowns.
Diabu Machines recently entered the Indian market. Designed remembering the Indian working conditions and the Indian operator, Diabu’s floor saws, wall saws and drilling machines are designed around the platform of robust, rigid and productivity. Diabu uses good quality and right configuration steel, longevity and easy to maintain bearings, dust and water protected motors, bearings and all sorts of sliding and rotating parts. Most if not all fasteners are manufactured from either stainless-steel or rust proof and tensile steel. In addition to being simple to use, maintenance is likewise quite simple with simple to access grease and oil points.
“There is really a significant necessity for education about controlled dismantling being a technology within the construction industry. Other challenges correspond with acceptability and adaptability of the technology in some of the major projects, drilling and sawing vis-à-vis the typical chisel and hammer, economics related to the technology since this is expensive, application with illiterate labor and localized accessibility of the technology.”
Choosing the proper blade (for your saw, the fabric and also the job) is a vital consider getting maximum performance. Many other variables also affect blade performance. Changing any variable could have an effect on cutting speed and blade life.
Concrete cutting as an application oriented process, blades are supplied according to end application requirement and job site requirements. The key concrete cutting tools that happen to be utilized range from the wall (or track) saw, the flat (or slab) saw, the core drill, as well as the wire saw. Wall sawing is normally specified to reduce precise dimensional door, vent and window openings. Straight as well as bevel cuts are possible with the wall saw. The wall saw is likewise an outstanding selection for creating precise openings in almost any concrete structure. Flat sawing is generally utilized to cut horizontal flat surfaces including floors, bridge decks, and pavement. Flat saws are typically utilized to provide expansion joints, remove damaged pavement sections, clean and repair random cracks dexqpky76 repair, and take off concrete sections for demolition purposes. Core drilling techniques are used when precise, circular cuts are required such as openings for plumbing, electrical and HVAC installations, creating holes for routing cables or placing anchoring bolts, installing load carrying devices or dowel bars, or concrete sample analysis. Wire sawing can be used for removing of thick sections of concrete. It is great for removing large parts of heavily reinforced concrete, like piers, towers and bridge sections, and cutting concrete in areas where work space is fixed.
Often the decision of cutting wet or dry is determined by ones preferences and job requirements. While most sawing or drilling is wet, conditions for example water scarcity in sites, requirement to keep the website clean water/slurry due to proximity with existing office/ factory /commercial/residential space, proximity to electrical or other such dangerous areas may warrant dry cutting. However, cautions Mr.Venkatesh of Diabu, “If the cutting is dry it will always be wise to use saws that are laser welded or atleast have special reinforced brazing. Using such blades ensure that the extremely high heat generated during dry cutting does not damage the blade which might also cause injury and cause accidents.”
Apart from the sort of cutting and dry or wet cutting, varieties of concrete also influence your choice in choosing a blade. The size of curing time after concrete is poured greatly affects the way a diamond blade will connect to it during cutting. Curing may be influenced by weather (temperature, moisture and season) along with the composition (admixtures, aggregate and sand). Cured concrete is generally set a minimum of 48 hours. The sand is entirely bonded with all the mortar along with the concrete reaches full hardness. Concrete is generally in its green state for 6 to 48 hrs after it can be poured. In this early state, the sand will not be completely bonded with all the mortar and the concrete doesn’t reach full hardness. When cutting green concrete, the sand loosens more readily, and flows more freely within the slurry, and produces far more abrasion on a diamond blade. Undercut protection is vital when cutting green concrete to stop excessive wear on the steel core in the segment weld. Green concrete sawing is normal when focusing on new construction projects like; motorways, runways, driveways & industrial flooring.
The size and type of aggregate possess a great impact on the overall hardness of concrete and also the blade to choose. The aggregate can make up as much as 75% of the total volume. For the most part, larger aggregate will make the concrete act harder, slowing drilling process. Smaller aggregates make a blade cut faster. Sand is section of the aggregate mix, and determines the abrasiveness of concrete. “Small aggregate” is often sand. Sand may either be sharp (abrasive) or round (non-abrasive). To look for the sharpness of sand, you need to know where the sand is from. Crushed sand and bank sand are often sharp; river sand is normally round.
Selection for core drilling operation will even requires understanding the diameter in the final hole required, surface finish of the drilled hole, surface and accessibility of your drilling area.
“Tool horsepower, tool reliability and simplicity can also be required for selecting the right tool”, adds Mr. Shyam Raghunandan of Hilti, India.
Manav Goel, of TYROLIT summarizes, “Overall, factors such as diameter in the core, length of the core, power and speed of motor, percentage reinforcement, grade of concrete, horizontal or vertical drilling, Silicon steel core cutting machine, anchor or vacuum fixation aid in deciding which concrete core cutter for the project.”
Conventional concrete cutting and drilling methods generated huge amounts of dust. While wet cutting or drilling operation fails to generate dust mainly because it uses water, the instance of dust is almost totally avoided. However, the slurry generated needs to be cleaned regularly. For dry cutting, most manufacturers have dust extraction systems as accessories.
In addition to saw speed, the simplicity of transport and installation comes into play in jobsites which may have single doors or window openings to be cut out or the location where the saw needs to be constantly moved in one floor to another. Some machines are employed in a modular system thus attracting certain advantages, because the single component could be easier transported and installed.
With respect to costs, this equipment is not very expensive machines of course, if regularly maintained, the cost of maintenance may be kept as low as any machine a yearly spend of about 6% – 10% of the cost of the device.
The popularity is clearly lighter, lesser, faster and a lot more profitable. But what comes with this development can be a stronger demand that operators be trained effectively. Also, contractors needs to be made aware or there must be pros who can recommend the most effective techniques and equipment for the best efficient and price-effective cutting at any stage of your project.
“On the service front, Prime Technologies features a band of service engineers who happen to be always roaming and actively engage themselves in providing solutions and technical advice to clients. They are also involved in training the dealers and customers’ maintenance personnel. They perform a huge role inside the daily operation of our company. “Akhil Jain, CEO, Prime Technologies.
