Front Cover: MG INTERNATIONAL DIAMOND TOOLS SAL
Industrial Zone, Ain Saade, Meker Buiding, Beirut, Lebanon

MG was born in 1962 in Turin, Italy, cradle town of the Italian Industrial Revolution, and it was the first Italian Company and third European Company to venture in the field of diamond tools manufacturing, leading the Company to worldwide reputation.
In 2002, MG was relocated to Lebanon thanks to the efforts of Mr. Kamal Nahas and becomes MG International Diamond Tools sal, restarting its production in 2004.
MG International Diamond Tools offers a full line of diamond tools for marble, granite, stone and construction industries. The product line includes: diamond circular saw blades, diamond gangsaw blades, diamond wire for quarry, diamond wire for mono wire machines, diamond wire for multi wire machines, diamond fickert for granite polishing, diamond rollers, diamond Frankfurt for marble polishing, diamond brush for leather touch and special diamond tools according to customer drawing. All diamond tools are produced with the most advanced technology using the highest quality components.

www.mgidt.com

08) Approve wire cutting for all Nordic seasons

Abstract: This study summarizes results of a diamond wire extraction test in freezing winter time in East Finland. Research put a special emphasis on challenges of basic wire cutting practices in frost conditions. The test period was last year 2016 in mid-December. Wire sawing and new experiments with different rock types and conditions is part of Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) managed project “Resource efficiency development of natural stone production”.
The research project is funded by local municipalities, stone companies and European Regional Development Fund, ERDF.

17) Wear resistant diamond-impregnated tool composites

Abstract: The objective of the present work was to determine the abrasion resistance of a new Fe-Mn-Cu-Sn-C matrix alloy designed to replace Co-WC materials which to date have been broadly used for the manufacture of diamond-impregnated tool components. To this end, iron-base and cobalt-base specimens were consolidated by the hot pressing route from mechanically milled and premixed powders, respectively. The specimens were subsequently checked for density andtested for resistance to both 3-body and 2-body abrasion. A series of diamond-impregnated specimens was also produced and tested for wear rate on abrasive sandstone using a special testing rig. The obtained wear data revealed excellent abrasion resistance of the newly-developed, inexpensive iron-base PM alloy.
The statistical analysis showed that the wear rate of diamond-impregnated composites was mainly affected by the surface concentration of diamonds but statistically significant contribution of the matrix resistance to 3-body abrasion was also found.

24) Physics of pressure transmission in powders

Abstract: A confined liquid transmits externally applied pressure uniformly in all directions. Drawing an analogy between the atoms of a liquid and the particles of a powder and taking the indentation resistance of the material of the particles into account, load carried by the particles at applied pressure during compaction can be calculated by the relationship between pressure and particle radius.
The relation was verified by measuring the extent of flattening of individual model-particles in a number of die-pressed compacts including ‘single-sphere compacts’ and a huge compact consisting of large ductile spheres of different sizes. It was established that particle stacking and size distribution have no effect on the pressure distribution in powders and, consequently, on the progress of consolidation. In addition, the simulation was conducted by using the FEM.
The obtained results contradict the existing views on the pressure distribution in powders and pave way to develop a well-founded theory of densification of powders during compaction, sintering, and hot isostatic pressing.

33) An experimental study of aluminum alloy matrix composite reinforced SiC made by hot pressing method

Abstract: The present work investigates the possibility of using powder metallurgy processing for producing a metal matrix composite. Materials were prepared from AlSi5Cu2 chips with reinforcement of 10, 15, 20 wt.% silicon carbide. Aluminum alloy chips were milled with SiC powder in a highenergy ball mill by 40 hours. Mechanical alloying process lead to obtain an uniform distribution of hard SiC particles in the metallic matrix and refine the grain size. The consolidation of composite powders was performed by vacuum hot pressing at 450°C, under pressure of 600 MPa by 10 min. The results shows that the addition of SiC particles has a substantial influence on the microstructure and mechanical properties of composite powder as well as consolidated material. Hot pressing is an effective consolidation method which leads to obtain dense AlSi5Cu2/SiC composite with homogeneous structure and advanced mechanical properties.

42) Marmomac 2017: a guiding international role for natural stone business and culture

60) Journey of the Mayflower. Cutting contractor transforms Dallas building

66) Precision scales. Tyrolit for the new headquarters of the Feltrinelli Foundation in Milan

72) World of Concrete Europe joins INTERMAT Paris 2018 to fulfil the requirements of the Concrete Sector

76) Batimat, Interclima+Elec_HB and Idèobain, a very promising 2017 edition