A contour-cutting machine used in stone workshops to follow profiles and remove material around the outline of a form.
Contornatrice is a contouring machine used in stone fabrication and workshop practice. The term appears in the Pietrasanta interviews recorded by Le voci del marmo.
Depending on machine type and period, a contornatrice may follow a template, profile, or programmed path to remove stone around an intended contour.
Etymology
From Italian contorno, “outline or contour.”
Sculptor Notes
For the sculptor, contour cutting is most useful as an early material-removal operation. It establishes an envelope or silhouette but does not resolve the full three-dimensional form.
References
https://levocidelmarmo.sns.it/lista_times.php