It’s Just Cool: Paul Bunyan’s Bandsaw
If you need to slice really big stuff, you need a really big saw. The KASTOmaxcut is a really big bandsaw. Compared to the the person squatting next to it, the blade is thicker most people’s arms and the wheels are almost as wide as a person is high.
A 29hp motor powers either a bi-metal or carbon bandsaw blade which can be hydraulically twisted to make either horizontal or vertical cuts. According to KASTO’s website, you’d use this saw to cut slabs, ingot moulds, forged shafts, open-die forgings, marine crank shafts, shafts for turbines, large tools of all qualities and material like titanium, Hasteloy, and Inconel, which are difficult to cut.
You can purchase machines the that range in cutting width from 41″ to 81″ (that’s over 2 yards!). KASTO doesn’t post a price for the bandsaws on their website, so you’ll have to give them a call if you’re interested.
KASTOmaxcut [KASTO]
KASTOmaxcut Brochure(pdf)
KASTOmaxcut Press Release [ThomasNet]
Oh, it’s all very nice, but surely these industrial saws can be improved by a software developer mounting little springs on them somewhere?
You’d probably need an industrial software developer for this one I think.
Most folks who visit our pipe/metal fabrication shop – think our 10HP Marvel is pretty big – but this saw could probably slice through some pretty big stuff.
Lumber mills have (or had) bandsaws a lot bigger than this. I’ve seen pictures of blades flaked out on a shapening room floor that looked to be 12″ thick. Still, this modern example is cool to see.
Oh, and it’s Paul Bunyan, not Bunyon.
Does it have a laser?
@Mike47:
I knew it was Bunyan, I even double-checked the dictionary. For some reason my fingers typed Bunyon and I didn’t catch it. I feel like a big blue ass.
I used to work on these as a saw rep for Starrett. It’s a fun challenge to get them set up right and cutting accurately. The last big one I worked on was at a GM plant that did destructive testing on its’ enging casting department to check for internal flaws in the casting.
I love big bandsaws!
@Old as Dirt
At this size of cutting machine – if it had a laser it would use the laser for cutting and wouldn’t have a blade.
Seriously, small operations like mine – use band saws. While our Armstrong Blum (Marvel) Saw is not a CNC machine – some bandsaws are. High voulme operations are also moving to other options like water-jet cutting, plasma cutting – and lasers.
So…it’s better than $127 worth of this then? http://www.harborfreight.com/horizontal-vertical-metal-cutting-bandsaw-93762.html
And here I thought a Bunyon was something loggers got because of wearing ill-fitting boots… 😉
I remember visiting Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston and they has some seriously large tools for working on ships. It was a long time ago (pre-digital), but I did find a photo on Flikr that shows one serious bandsaw:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/miltown77/171686005/sizes/o/
The amazing thing about this tool is, to me, that while cutting stock that measures nearly 7′ accross, you can accurately make slices down to appr. 3/8″ thick! Products made from crosscuts of very large extrusions come to mind.
I bet these guys would find it a little small at times:
http://www.marmeninc.com/en/expertises/machining/
(let the slideshow run)
I once had them quote an eight foot diameter rolled 2″ plate part and was told that’s a small part for them!