| 摘要 |
A counter-top or free-standing cooking unit (10) with a top surface of natural stone (30) is made especially resistant to cracking and fracture caused by stress. A template is made of the desired size of stone counter-top, with sizes and positions of heating elements, as in a custom counter-top of conventional materials. The stone's perimeter is cut to match the template, and holes cut to match the diameters of the heating elements. The stone (30) is preferably annealed for a time at a temperature to relieve stresses introduced by cutting. A reinforcing metal plate (60) material is selected of sufficient tensile strength, good thermal conductivity, and an expansion coefficient matching the stone's lateral thermal expansion. The metal plate (60) may be a laminated composite of several metals, chosen such that the metal laminate matches the thermal expansion of the stone closely. The metal plate is cut to a size smaller by a predetermined amount than the stone slab's outer dimensions. Holes (40) are cut in the metal plate, equal in size or smaller by a predetermined amount than the holes in the stone and large enough to accommodate gas or electrical feeds to heating elements.
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