Baca systems sawjet

[signaturecountertops]

Josh,

I believe this is the same robot you saw run in Italy at Diamut. I did talk to Baca at StoneExpo in Vegas about the dual table robotic saw jet they had at the show. The extremely small footprint and low maintenance was very appealing to me, that being said I'm still a little unsure on the accuracy part of the equation. Another thing I thought about was the fact that there are so few of those machines in our industry I was concerned about parts and support possibly being an issue? If memory serves me correctly I think Baca told me the one at the show started around $375K.

[Joe Durfee]

That was a Kuka robot.

The problem with the robot CNC/SawJet IMO is that anytime you have the robot impacting the stone like it does with a CNC or Sawblade you increase the potential for backlash which will make the robot lose calibration.

The waterjet is no problem since it doesn't come in contact with the stone.

Cool to watch, not practical in our industry IMO.

[Ken Lago]

It would be nice if someone who actually own one would tell us what they think about all these concerns you guys bring up, I could give my opinion but whats the point if I only know what I have heard or think

[Matt Lansing]

When I was looking at buying a saw jet I looked at the USG machine. They had quoted me a lash of 0.005" per knuckle which doesn't seem like a lot until you realize that there are 4 knuckles so now you are at 0.02" which is enough to mess with a saw blade pretty well.

I passed on it for this reason.

[Nick]

That is a ton for a CNC. I can tell you from my vast CNC mitering experience that .02" is enough to clip the points of both mitered pieces when book matching. I actually make my material .01" thicker than probed if I am concerned about the material variance being an issue to assure I don't clip. Also when you do this, you need to add like .1 to your lam to offset that cut to be correct(top itself doesn't matter in real world). So something like .02" compounded with thickness variables and compounded with blade thickness coming in on an angle adds up fast.

I am overly picky, and I understand that this really doesn't effect countertops, but when all these variables go the wrong way (like clipping your miter on the other side) it does actually effect it.

I am also becoming a big believer in build not being so over rated. Plunge cutting miters in some stones as well as the accidental stuff (I may have tried to cut an arc in one pass the other day ) are real world stresses that the machine will be asked to absorb and maintain accuracy. What we do to routers and saws puts a lot more stress on the machine than I think we give credit for because you never really feel it hand fabbing with freedom of motion.

[VThartzog]

We can move this to the general forum and see if baca has any actual footage of this thing running and info on older machine longevity.

[Dan R.]

Moved.

[badboat]

Don't know if this will work, But this is a video showing a slab cut up in real time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... cTrj2Qoq60

[Curtis R. Marburger]

for me what is missing is redundancy , with a bridge you have double protection just in case someone manages to slam a slab into the saw or something . When loading slabs the bridge is moved out of the way. With the robot you would always be working around the post . I don't know how much force it would take to knock robot out of tolerance my wager would be less than a Bridge

[badboat]

The robot parks itself when done so that it is out of the way. I would agree that slamming a slab into it would knock it out of calibration but the same is probably going to happen to any machine, because if they slam it into anything it is going to most likely spindle or motor attached to that bridge. I have yet to have anyone actually hit my NW when loading a slab. But......
I have had the saw hit my blick clamps on more then one occasion

[Dan R.]

Note to self: do not slam slabs into equipment.
There, that should do it, if only we remember the wisdom of the words!

[Ken Lago]

I like it. Its a great space saver and looks solid. From what Mike have told me it is certainly an option one must look into when shopping for a saw.

[badboat]

Say Hello to ROCKY! He arrived at our shop on the 18th of August, as a result of our visit to BACA Systems and KUKA Robotics. We got to see a dual table in production in a production shop (10000-15000 SqFt per week ) All components were rigged off by us using our forklifts. 1st week was installation and the 2nd week was training. We went with a single table due to space constraints, as well as I don't think I could keep a dual table busy enough. The speed at which slabs are cut up is just plain fun to watch. I'm coming from cutting on foam on a Northwood FabCenter. The use of Fingerbits has been cut drastically. Which result in faster production time on the CNC. If you have any question please feel free to ask.

[Darryl Miller]

Congratulations Mike!! You know, a little video of it in action would be nice. (hint...hint)

[clhilde]

And it has to have Eye of the Tiger playing in the back ground

Congrats Mike..

[Darryl Miller]

And it has to have Eye of the Tiger playing in the back ground

Yes, it has to have that!

[Dan R.]

Awesome addition!

I look forward to hearing more about that monster!!

[DavidL]

Congrats Mike. That's one heck of an addition to the saw.

[granitemarbleworks]

We are a fabricator of natural stone and quartz countertops in upstate NY. The team from BACA arrived in mid-January this year, in the midst of the coldest and longest winter in history. They installed the BACA system in a timely and efficient manner, and handled training extremely well. Our staff was up and running within a day after installation, and by the end of their first week without oversight from BACA, they were cutting more efficiently than ever. We actually need an extra person to continue to feed the machine. What was once the bottleneck in our shop (cutting stone) is no longer a problem. Our cutting staff no longer has to work overtime to keep up with the needs of our polishers.

Since January, we haven't looked back; our production is more efficient and all the things that BACA told us about the machine have been true. No oversell, no smoke and mirrors, just real results.

On a variety of forums, you may hear about the pros and cons of various machines and tools. This is not our first effort to upgrade our shop, and we have had other machines in the past. We have always been pleased with the results of our efforts to upgrade. In the case of the BACA RoboSawJet, however, the difference isn't just the machine -- it really is the service. Anytime there is a question, someone is always available to help. Technical assistance and are provided on a timely, professional and friendly basis. I can't stress enough how helpful and available the staff at BACA has been. In the end, you can have the best machine, but if you can't get help, it isn't a wise investment. Our experience has been outstanding and we are looking forward to many years of a great relationship with the folks from BACA.

[frankmuraca]

We have been running a dual table Baca Sawjet since December and it has been flawless. We had some learning to do on the waterjet as we were new to it, but we have not had one issue with the robot. We are currently averaging 6-900 sqft a day and it never stops. Go to Detroit see the machine, they flew us out when we were looking and I can tell you that what they promised has become a reality. One of the best things, which was a huge concern to me during our investigation, is the level of service. I can honestly say I have never had to wait more than 15 minutes for a call back when we had a question, I cannot say that for my router or bridge saw. We have since sent people to Detroit for training and they just do a fantastic job. Seriously, go see it for yourself. If you don't want to go to Detroit come down to Charlotte, as long as we don't compete you can come through and see for yourself. Although I won't pay for your flight, the weather most likely will be better.

[Dan R.]

We have been running a dual table Baca Sawjet ............. Seriously, go see it for yourself. If you don't want to go to Detroit come down to Charlotte, as long as we don't compete you can come through and see for yourself. Although I won't pay for your flight, the weather most likely will be better.

Nice testimonial. Do you have some sort of secret formula for the stone business that is so earth shattering that it would keep you from sharing with a local fabricator? If so, please share it with me, I will never "compete" against you.

"... As long as we don't compete you can come through..."

The SFA mantra is Learn Share Prosper. While no one is obligated to all of the ideals, it does make a nice package. I am sure all would agree on that point.

Most every SFA shop, I know of, has an open door policy.

I may suggest that your client's perception is your primary competition, not the other guy with a fab shop.

[steven nenzel]

A 2cm shop a couple of miles from me recently bought one and paid over $300. I don't understand that decision. I would imagine a lot of his work is miter. From what I hear they have problems running it.

[BIG MOE]

Hello folks,
I figured that I would chime in. I am not an expert on robotic technology, but I have been running a robot (sawjet) for about five years and I have 15 years of experience cutting stone with flow waterjets. The robot is fast and accurate. The quality of the cut is as good as any saw cut. I will say that the robot is challenged when it comes to mitering. It does a good job of mitering within certain parameters, but does not do well with jobs that have angles and islands. I will say that it is the most reliable piece of equipment in the shop. We still have one of the 3 flow waterjets, and we use it for custom work as well as production. We have been doing more and more of the custom waterjet cutting on the robot, and we have not had any problem holding tolerance. Other than needing a different solution for mitering, we are extremely happy with our robot.
Have a good day ladies and gentlemen

[cpr@pgc]

Hello All! I have had a Robo since March 1st, and all is going great. I had a good amount of Robot experience when I worked in the auto industry some time ago. So I knew the Robo would work, and it has. No complaints at all. For the most part, our industry is stuck in the rut of gantry style equipment. The Robo is by far the advantage when it comes to footprint (and don't forget height!). We do not use it for mitering, we have kept our Yukon around for that, and rodding. Any questions fire away. I sure love sending surplus slabs back.
Peace!