Marble & Stone - Marble & Carrara

Marble & Carrara

Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, which give each block its own characteristic veins and swirls.
The stunning landscape and the raw material of the Carrara Marble quarries continues to inspire generations of designers, architects and interior designers alike.
It is the raw, gray tinted terrain paired with the discovery that every block of marble is unique that creates such fascination.
The undisputed power of Carrara marble is its timelessness. From the early Roman times, the Tuscan region has been plundered for its precious resource and marble's history is written in stone, throughout sculpture and architecture from Michelangelo's David, to Snøhetta's Oslo Opera House.

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Marble & Stone - Marble Extraction
CARRARA

MARBLE EXTRACTION

Back in ancient Rome, marble blocks were carved by laborious methods: fissures were carved into the mountain stone and filled with wet wood which, when expanded, caused the marble to break off in giant pieces. A sled-like contraption on a wooden track was the method used to bring the marble down the mountain until the twentieth century. Today new cutting-edge technology enables the extraction process of blocks up to 9m long. For centuries, Apuan quarries have been a point of reference for the most prestigious marble. Our quarries are located in the heart of the Apuan mountains: extraction, cutting facilities and artistic workshops are close by in the same area.

Travertine

Travertine is a terrestrial sedimentary rock, formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from solution in ground and surface waters, or geothermally heated hot-springs.

Granite

Granite is a felsic intrusive igneous rock that is granular and phaneritic in texture. Granites can be predominantly white, pink, or gray in color, depending on their mineralogy.

Marble & Stone - Lava Stone

Lava Stone

Sicily is also famous for its stones, from pitch black lava to the white Comiso stone.
Lava stone, technically called basalt, is the results of centuries of Vulcanic eruptions in the region.
Etna has been one of the largest source of this dark stone, the quarries are in fact at the end of a massive lava flow. Lava stone is highly valued for ultimate resistance to wear and impact.
This material is strong enough to be employed for the production of large-format slabs and it's resistant to heat being itself at the same time a good conductor, because the lava stone absorbs heat quickly and releases it slowly.

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MARBLE & STONES

Manufacturing Techniques & Technologies

Marble & Stone - Robotised 3D Scanner

ROBOTISED 3D SCANNER

High performance instrument, suitable to scan both outdoors and indoors. Thanks to its laser technology, it can reconstruct 3D solid models starting from objects with every form, dimension and complexity.
The extreme precision in the survey of points and surfaces assure an exact reconstruction of the scanned object.
This instrument, born from 100% Italian research (CNR), can be used manually like a common 3D scanner, but also in synergy with their anthropomorphic robots gaining the skill, unique in this sector, of reconstructing clouds of points independently, without further actions needed on the digital realignment of the scanned model.

Marble & Stone - Anthropomorphic Robots

ANTHROPOMORPHIC ROBOTS

Our artisans’ robotised islands with high precision anthropomorphic robots (7 interpolated axes) are the state of the art of technology for the stone processing.
A tall working area up to 2.5 meters of height allows the creation of big and full-round works.
Besides the big variety of tools for the processing of every type of marble and stone, there is also the possibility to work materials for the rapid prototyping: plastics, polystyrene, resins, etc.
These machines, together with their powerful softwares, can perform complex operations with extreme easiness: the results of the creation of human or abstract figures are qualitatively excellent. Going from the scale model or the computer generated 3D model to the final realisation has never been that easy.

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CNC WORK CENTRE

Our craftsmen’s CNC work centre (5 interpolated axes) works with blocks, solids and marble slabs, granite, naturalstone veneer and glass.
CNC centres allow any kind of drilling, milling, cutting with blades, contouring, shaping, recessing, polishing, carving, engraving, chamfering, 3d writing and processing.
These machines can make big lots with precision and high rapidity.
Hand polishing is required to smooth out the machined surfaces for a polished or matte finish.

Marble & Stone - CNC Work Centre
Marble & Stone - Waterjet

WATERJET

Our craftsmen’s CNC work centre (5 interpolated axes) works with blocks, solids and marble slabs, granite, natural stone veneer and glass. CNC centres allow any kind of drilling, milling, cutting with blades, contouring, shaping, recessing, polishing, carving, engraving, chamfering, 3d writing and processing. These machines can make big lots with precision and high rapidity. Hand polishing is required to smooth out the machined surfaces for a polished or matte finish.

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INLAYS

INLAY

These casting methods are used to produce very intricate details and the use of molds of hardened steel allow to replicate the same piece many times.
A pouring channel and several small vent channels are necessary to eliminate the quantity of gas that remains trapped in the jet at high temperatures.
Compared to earth casting, the piece produced is more finished and more responsive to the desired morphological and functional characteristics.
In die casting the molten metal is injected under high pressure and allowed to solidify in the die.
The equipment needed for die casting combined with the costs to produce patterns and molds out of hardened steel makes it a very expensive process.

The tradition of polychrome marble dates back to the times of ancient Rome. Inlays and Mosaics are to be found everywhere in Italy and abroad. Originally Inlay work began with a design that was cut out on a brass sheet, which was then placed on marble and drawn. The marble was then carved out, using a set of chisels and a set-square today. Today the use of waterjet allows to cut any Vector file into marble or metal. Small pieces of marble of different shades are cut to precisely fit together.

Marble & Stone - Inlay
Marble & Stone - Bridge Saw

BRIDGE SAW

Marble bridge saws undertake the tough job of cutting the hardest material like marble and granites in various shapes and sizes. Bridge saws in the marble industry are fitted with a diamond blade to grind through the material, while a water pumping system runs water over the blade and stone during cutting in order to keep the blade cool and minimize dust. When operating a bridge saw, the cutting head and diamond blade travel across the “bridge” and can rotate around its axis. Many of our marble textures are created by using this machinery.

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Marble & Stone - Bridge Saw 3

LATHE TURNING

The general process of turning involves spinning a block of marble while a single-point cutting tool is moved parallel to the axis of rotation. This makes it possible to shape a shapeless block of stone into marble and granite symmetrical or non-symmetrical complex figures. The products made with the lathe come from blocks of precious, high-quality marble and granite from Italy and all over the world. The choice of material is highly important: granite is a very hard rock and complicated to work, but more resistant in comparison to marble. Instead, marble is more malleable and consequently easier to work, although more friable.

LATHE TURNING

The general process of turning involves spinning a block of marble while a single-point cutting tool is moved parallel to the axis of rotation. This makes it possible to shape a shapeless block of stone into marble and granite symmetrical or non-symmetrical complex figures. The products made with the lathe come from blocks of precious, high-quality marble and granite from Italy and all over the world. The choice of material is highly important: granite is a very hard rock and complicated to work, but more resistant in comparison to marble. Instead, marble is more malleable and consequently easier to work, although more friable.

Marble & Stone - Hand Carving

HAND CARVING

When realizing a sculpture, our craftsmen have both of state of the art technology and the hand work of our sculptors, clay modellers and plaster cast moulders.

The irreplaceable and strictly manual skills are handed down from one generation to the next, and our specialized craftsmen are the custodians of centuries old knowledge and insight which has rendered them unique in the world for their ability.

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