In the natural stone industry, the yield rate is a crucial economic and technical indicator, which is directly related to the economic benefits and profit levels of stone mining and stone processing enterprises. The yield rate not only affects the cost control of the enterprise, but also determines the efficiency of resource utilization. Therefore, it is extremely important for stone enterprises to deeply understand and optimize the stone yield rate. This article will discuss in detail several ways to express the stone yield rate and its influencing factors, and provide a reference for practitioners in the stone industry.
1. Natural Stone Mine yield rate: the core indicator of mining efficiency
The mine yield rate is a key indicator for measuring the efficiency of stone mining. It refers to the ratio of the volume of stone rough blocks mined to the total volume of the original rock, usually expressed as a percentage. The mine yield rate reflects how much rough blocks that meet the processing requirements can be obtained from the original rock during the mining process. The importance of this indicator lies in that it directly determines the economic benefits of mining. If the mine yield rate is low, it means that a large amount of original rock is wasted during the mining process, which not only increases the mining cost, but also reduces the efficiency of resource utilization. The yield of a mine depends on many factors, including the original condition of the original rock and the mining technology conditions. Factors such as the cracks and integrity of the original rock will directly affect the output rate of rough materials. For example, some original rocks may have more cracks or broken areas, which are prone to produce a large amount of waste during the mining process. In addition, mining technology conditions also have an important impact on the yield of mines. Advanced mining technology and equipment can more effectively extract rough materials from the original rock and reduce waste. However, the yield of mines is not an indicator that is easy to improve. Generally speaking, the yield of mines is between 10% and 60%, and the yield of mines above 60% is already quite good. There was a beige Natural stone mining company in China that could not maintain its operation due to the low yield of the mine, and eventually had to close. This fully demonstrates that the yield of mines plays a vital role in the survival and development of enterprises. In order to improve the utilization rate of stone resources, some stone mining companies have begun to crush a large number of blocks and gravels produced during the mining process to produce stone powder, fine aggregates, etc. These products can be used to make stone powder, aggregates, etc. for artificial stone, thus realizing the comprehensive utilization of resources and improving the economic benefits of the company.
2. Volume yield: a key indicator in the processing process
Volume yield is another important economic and technical indicator in the Natural stone processing process. It is divided into the volume yield of large plates and the volume yield of handicrafts. The volume yield of large plates refers to the ratio of the total volume of large plates to the volume of rough materials, multiplied by 100% to get the percentage. This indicator displays how much large plate area of a specific thickness may be produced from one cubic meter of rough materials. The volume yield of large plates directly affects the economic benefits of stone processing companies. There are several elements that affect the volume yield of large plates, among which the state of rough materials is an essential factor. Whether the rough materials are regular, the number of cracks and the degree of crushing will have a major impact on the volume yield of huge plates. If there are many fractures or broken places in the block, a substantial amount of trash is likely to be generated during the processing, consequently limiting the volume yield of huge slabs. In order to deal with this difficulty, some natural stone processing businesses utilise vacuum glue injection technology to inject glue along the fractures of the block before the block is put on the machine to strengthen the strength of the block, hence boosting the output of huge slabs.
Sawing equipment and saw blade thickness are other major elements impacting the volume yield of huge slabs. Different sawing equipment has variances in stability and flatness, which will directly affect the processing quality of huge slabs. For example, the yield of large slabs cut by gang saws is usually higher than that of circular saws, because the thickness of circular saw blades is thicker than that of gang saw blades, and more resources will be wasted while sawing huge slabs. In order to improve the volume yield of huge slabs, stone equipment manufacturers continue to create novel sawing instruments, such as ultra-fine wire saws. At present, the most sophisticated ultra-fine wire saws in China have a diamond wire diameter of less than 1mm, which substantially minimises the thickness of the saw seam, thereby greatly enhancing the stone yield. The management level of Natural stone processing firms also has a substantial impact on the volume yield of huge slabs. Enterprises with strong management levels can better deal with difficulties such as marble cracks and limit the occurrence of sawing collapse and board collapse. For example, while sawing marble slabs, if the management is extensive, the marble with fractures may collapse during the sawing process, or even tumble down, resulting in a lot of waste. Enterprises with high management levels will employ reinforcing measures, such as binding with straps and supporting frames to sustain the slabs to prevent them from collapsing. Furthermore influencing the slab volume yield will be the process level of slab glue repair. Enterprises with high glue repair process levels can repair broken and severely damaged slabs to enhance the volume yield of the slabs; conversely, enterprises with weak glue repair process levels will diminish the volume yield of the slabs. The ratio of the total volume of handicrafts to the volume of raw materials required to process this batch of handicrafts multiplied by 100% yields the percentage volume yield for handicrafts. Due to their complexity of processing technology and tailored needs, the computation and optimisation of handicrafts is very difficult even though their volume yield also accounts for a considerable share in Natural stone processing. Generally speaking, the volume yield rate is a measure of which stone processing businesses should pay most attention. The volume yield rate can be considerably raised by optimising the condition of rough materials, choosing appropriate sawing equipment and saw blades, and raising management and glue filling technology levels, thereby enhancing the economic advantages of the organisation.
3. Key indicator of improved management: area yield rate
An other crucial technical and economic indication in the natural stone processing process is the area yield rate. It gets the percentage by multiplying the ratio of the large plate utilised to the entire area of the specification plate by 100%. Mostly referring to the yield rate of the specification plate, the area yield rate can only be computed for natural stones with the same thickness. This indication shows how many huge plates the processing process can trim from that which satisfies the specifications. The economic advantages and resource use of Natural stone processing companies are directly related with the region yield rate.
Among the several elements influencing the area yield rate, size of the specification plate is a major one. varying sized specification plates will generate varying wastes throughout the cutting operation, so influencing the yield rate. For instance, a 1000x 1000 standard plate is usually challenging to make, hence cutting one of this size could lower the yield rate. The area yield rate of the specification plate depends in great part on the size of the large plate. Selecting a sizable, appropriate cutting plate can help to increase the yield rate rather well. For instance, the yield rate might not be particularly great if you cut a 1000×1000 standard plate from a 2500×1400 huge plate. Therefore, in order to increase the yield rate, one should design a realistic plan based on the size of the standard plate while selecting a large plate. One should not overlook the great quality of the huge plate. Cracks and colour variations on the surface of the big plate will compromise the quality of the standard plate, therefore producing wastes. For instance, the reason so many waste of star white natural stone are generated is that consumers reject surface flaws on the Natural stone; so, while cutting the plate, cracks must be prevented to make a significant quantity of wastes. The area yield rate of the standard plate will also depend on the technical degree and sense of responsibility of the plate cutter. Poor technical level and sense of responsibility employees may cut the wrong texture, cut the colour inconsistently, or cut the wrong size, thereby compromising the area yield rate of the standard plate.
Stone processing firms must so increase employee technical level and sense of responsibility, strengthen their training, thereby helping to lower waste resulting from human factors. Furthermore quite important is the influence of workshop management level on the area yield rate. Stone’s texture and colour change constantly. It is rather crucial to properly plan the big cut-out specification plates as they should satisfy the needs of consumers and projects. We can guarantee that the area yield rate of the specification plates is high and avoid wasting Natural stones only by performing a good job in material planning, supervising the cutting staff to cut the plates strictly according to the material planning, and the layout staff to arrange the plates strictly according to the layout drawings. Simply said, a major determinant of the improved administration of Natural stone processing businesses is the area yield rate. The area yield rate can be reasonably improved by optimising the size of specification plates, reasonably selecting the size of large plates, improving the quality of large plates, improving the technical level of plate cutters and strengthening the level of workshop management, so improving the economic benefits and resource use of enterprises.
4. Complete actions aiming at raising the Natural stone yield rate
A methodical project, the improvement of the Natural stone yield rate must begin from several angles including mining, processing technologies, equipment choice, and enterprise management. By means of optimal mining technology and enhanced automation and intelligence degree of equipment, businesses can minimise waste in the mining stage. For instance, the use of sophisticated blasting technology and equipment helps to more precisely remove rough materials from the original rock and minimise the creation of cracked and broken sections. Simultaneously, businesses can also rationalise mining plans, enhance the use rate of raw rocks, and strengthen the investigation and evaluation of mining resources. Regarding processing technology, companies must select suitable equipment and technology based on various types of stone and processing needs. For Natural stones with more cracks, for instance, vacuum injection technology can be used to enhance the strength of rough materials; for plates that call for high-precision cutting, advanced sawing equipment such ultra-fine wire saws can be chosen to lower the thickness of saw seams and increase the yield rates. Furthermore, by means of process optimisation and waste reduction in intermediary linkages, companies can enhance processing efficiency and quality.
Improving the yield rate of stone depends also on the choice of equipment. As science and technology develop regularly, stone processing equipment’s performance and accuracy are getting better. Depending on their particular manufacturing requirements, companies should use environmentally friendly, energy-saving equipment. Choosing saw blades with thinner saw seams, diamond beaded ropes and other sawing instruments, for instance, can help to significantly cut material waste; selecting equipment with a high degree of automation will increase production efficiency and processing accuracy. Regarding enterprise management, companies must build a strong quality control system and cost control mechanism as well as increase manufacturing process management and supervision. Strict production standards and operating policies help to standardise employees’ working practices, lower waste resulting from human factors, and hence guide behaviour. Simultaneously, companies can provide technical support for the growth of their businesses and raise employees’ technical level and inventiveness by means of employee training and technical interchange programs. Enterprises may also develop a reliable supply chain system, lower raw material procurement costs and product sales expenses, and increase the market competitiveness of their own by strengthening cooperation with upstream and downstream companies. Simply said, raising the Natural stone yield rate calls for businesses to start from several angles and do thorough actions. The Natural stone yield rate can be practically raised, production costs can be lowered, the economic benefits and resource use rate of businesses can be raised, and the sustainable development of enterprises can be attained by means of optimisation of mining technology, improvement of processing technology, choice of suitable equipment, strengthening of enterprise management and other measures. A major technical and economic indicator in the stone sector, stone yield rate directly relates to the rate of resource use and economic gains of businesses. Three key metrics for gauging stone yield rate are mine yield rate, volume yield rate, and area yield rate; these reflect the use efficiency of Natural stone from the angles of mining, processing technology, and product specifications. By means of thorough analysis of the elements influencing these indicators, businesses can implement focused actions to maximise mining and processing technologies, so enhancing the management level and hence the Natural stone yield rate, so lowering production costs and increasing the economic benefits and market competitiveness of companies. Natural Stone businesses can only remain unbeatable in the current market competition environment and accomplish sustainable development by always raising the yield rate.