Hitachi's Silver Lining - Pdworld.com

Bridge cutting with Skystone diamond wires.A specialist wire manFuzhou-basedSkystone DiamondTools has been manufacturingdiamondconsumables since1994. In 2000, after sixyears of sustainabledevelopment, thecompany chosediamond wires as itsmainstay product andbegan to specializein this business.Diamond wire is the most challenging product of the entirediamond tool spectrum in terms of manufacturing complexity.There are many factors at play: the composition and shape ofdiamond beads, the precision of rubber vulcanization process,the resiliency and durability of inner metal cables. If any of thenumerous process requirements is not met, the diamond wire(and the contractor’s time and money) is as good as wasted. Ittakes time and effort to fully master the art of diamond wireproduction, so every manufacturer known to make a good wireis treasured by professional contractors.Specialization is the keyThere are not too many manufacturers in the diamond toolbusiness that favour specialization over diversification. Mostof the players in this market tend to produce a wide range ofdiamond consumables – from polishing pads and grindingwheels to drill segments to all sorts of blades and wires. Underthese conditions, achieving perfection for every item in one’scatalogue is highly unlikely. Skystone is one of the precious fewthat have chosen a different path and focused on one business– in their case, wire sawing. The company began to researchinto this field in 2000 and after three years of hard work itdelivered its first diamond wire for granite cutting under thebrand name of Skystone. By 2011, Skystone has evolved intoone of China’s biggest manufacturers, with a staff of 250 anda product range of 34 specifications. The company is now ableto offer 23 different types of diamond wires for cutting anyconstruction material – from reinforced concrete with varyingdegree of steel reinforcement (including a few specs forunderwater wire sawing) to straight steel and masonry – plus11 specs for quarrying jobs. Skystone’s bestselling constructionspecs are TSY-SRC110 and TSY-SRC114 – rubber-coated wireswith sintered beads for cutting concrete with 3–5 percent steelreinforcement. The GQR114 for granite cutting is the mostSkystone’s wire saws at work.76 PDi • Issue 2 • May - June 2011