The video showing the Breton Shapemill as it creates a twisted column has been viewed more than 500,000 times!

Greetings all,

today I would like to share a personal achievement with you!

This is the brief story of how a video was made – it is actually a photographic sequence – which has been viewed more than 500,000 times this week on our Youtube channel!

Step-by-step, the video describes how a twisted column was made from a block of Bretonstone (engineered stone) using a Breton SHAPEMILL machining centre with 5 interpolated axes

and ends with finishing the work on the lathe.

The story starts in July 2008, when Breton management decides to bring this new machine to the MARMOMACC trade show in Verona.

I am sure that some of you already know it. It is an exceptional machine, both in terms of dimensions and performance.

We had to create some sophisticated items to place inside the machine on display to show off the characteristics and performance that were so innovative for a machining centre dedicated to natural stone.

One of my colleagues thought of making the famous twisted column now displayed prominently in the company's garden.

A technologist expert in 5-axis CNC followed all the phases step-by-step as our customer Kienesberger Steinmetz in Schlüßlberg (Austria) made the column.

Moreno Bragagnolo - The technologist who followed the whole process

It took almost 2 weeks of work to finish the job.

The accompanying music is not up to the standard of the video.

Here you can see all the photos that Moreno sent me.

Scrolling through the photos, you will understand how difficult this machining was.

I took 2 days to choose the best photos from those taken, discarding the vertical ones, and enter them into the video to finish the project.

You will not believe it! I used the legendary Windows Media Video, extremely simple and free software from Microsoft. I was new to video editing and it shows.

I will end by saying YES, the Content is the KING!
If what you're describing is valid, interesting, innovative and above all useful to your reader/watcher, you don't need ultra-professional equipment, a film crew, a professional photographer, a lighting expert, a blogger, an influencer, a copywriter, etc.

If you are interested in works made on this machining centre, here you can see many others.

All you need is a series of beautiful photos, a video made with a smartphone (nowadays modern medium-high level mobile phones have excellent cameras), even better if it is accompanied by text to describe what you are showing in detail.

How did we reach the milestone of 500,000 views?
The video shows some very special and spectacular machining, so we put it in posts in this and other blogs in which I describe the Shapemill and the other Breton machines for machining marble, granite, engineered stone, ceramics and more. We also put it in the news on the company website and the page on the same site where we describe the machining centre and it has been shared on other sites too.

A final detail: you should know that the photos in this service were taken with an Epson digital camera worth €200. 

If the video of the technology applied to this extraordinary machine has left you dumbfounded and you would like to receive a quotation, just write to mail@breton.it.

We'll get back to you promptly.

Thank you.
Hope to see you soon.
Bye-bye
Sergio Prior 

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breton shapemill, machining centre with 5 interpolated axes, twisted column

Breton Shapemill and tombstone with two bunches of flowers carved in relief.

Good morning.

There’s something I’d like to share with you.

Today, I was stuck for words when I’ve received some pictures showing the production of a tombstone with two bunches of flowers carved in relief.

This tombstone was produced by Keystone Memorials Inc. from Elberton, Georgia (USA) which - only 5 months after the installation of our Breton Shapemill - proved to be real masters in operating a machining centre with 5 interpolated axes.

Today, combining a bit of imagination with a 3D scanner such as the Scantech SL and the Shapemill machining centre, you can produce elements with a complex shape while saving a lot of manual labour: indeed, something that was unthinkable 4-5 years ago.

Thanks again to Keystone Memorials Inc. for putting this material at our disposal.

Write to mail@breton.it and ask for an estimate of the Shapemill. 

That’s all for now. 

Bye-bye

Sergio Prior

 

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breton shapemill, machining centre with 5 interpolated axes, tombstone

Stone machining: there’s nothing Breton SHAPEMILL can’t do

The history of Margraf – formerly Industria Marmi Vicentini – started in 1906 in Chiampo, a town in the Province of Vicenza.

Right from the start the company focused on research and technological innovation and, in particular, on the close cooperation with renowned international architects.
Today, after more than 100 years, Margraf rightly joins the world leaders of the stone sector.

Masterly quarrying marble blocks from their own deposits to cut them into polished slabs or tiles and offering a wide range of highly valued material and top-of-the-range products for the construction industry and architecture (from interior to external cladding, up to furnishing complements for bathrooms and kitchens), are just some of the features that made Margraf a well-known and highly appreciated company worldwide.

However, all this did not prevent Margraf from staying focused on the respect for the environment, on the contrary the company invested in many facilities which reduce any environmental damage: most innovative technologies, projects for landscape recovery, strong investments in energy saving and renewable resources.
Past and present merge perfectly in Margraf, a leading company rushing into the future with enthusiasm. 

In 2009, Margraf purchased a Breton Shapemill machining centre with 5 interpolated axes, equipped with a work bench of 5.500x3.500 mm and a lathe for making columns of 800 mm (Ø) x 3.200 mm (length).

Key success factors of Breton Shapemill 5-axis machining centre
1. Sturdiness and machining precision are perfectly matched.
2. Very large work bench enabling to load the workpieces even when the machine is unattended overnight and during the weekends.
3. Structural steel and shields are produced masterly for cleaning and maintenance friendliness.

4. 27-cell rotating tool magazine, well protected against splashes.
5. Lathe with interpolated axes to perform complex shaping operations.
6. top quality electronic and mechanical components.

7. excellent after-sales service both in terms of repairs and response time.
8. he machine is working 22 hours a day, therefore it is possible to accept sizeable orders.
9. thanks to its flexibility in changing type of machining, the machine productivity is excellent even when non-standard workpieces are to be produced.

Small photo gallery showing some works performed at Margraf plant.

It 's all for today.
See you soon.

By-by 
Sergio Prior

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bath tube, breton shapemill, machining centre with 5 interpolated axes, margraf, turning column