WHY WATERJET

waterjet streamTake ordinary tap water and pressurize it to 60,000 psi (4,000 bar) and force it through a very small hole. Mix the water with garnet abrasive and you have a very thin stream of water traveling very fast that will rapidly erode most materials. Some waterjet projects require “water-only” and don’t add the garnet abrasive. These are used to cut softer materials, such as food, rubber, and foam.

Waterjets can cut just about any materials that are placed in front of them. The waterjet can cut intricate shapes not possible using traditional methods which makes it a preferred cutting process.

Waterjet Advantage

Our state of the art waterjet cutting technology has significant competitive advantages over traditional cutting methods.

  • Large 12′ x 20′ cutting envelope
  • Four cutting heads
  • Intricate, fine detail cuts
  • High Quality finish
  • Tolerances up to ±.003″
  • Fast set-up and programming
  • Tight parts nesting
  • No heat-affected zone
  • No ash or carbon deposits
  • No part distortion
  • No tooling costs
  • Minimal Burr
  • Very short lead times
  • Efficient and Cost Effective
6061 ALUMINUM – EDGE QUALITY – COLD ROLLED STEEL

edge_quality_aluminumedge_quality_steel

Waterjet vs

  • EDM

    • Cost is important
    • Parts are not conductive
    • Burned edge is unacceptable
    • Additional machining is required

  • LASER

    • Material is over .250″ thick
    • Parts are SS or exotic material
    • Parts are copper or brass
    • Parts are shiny
    • Burned edge is unacceptable
    • Distortion is unacceptable
    • Additional machining is required

  • PLASMA

    • Intricate shape is required
    • Finish is important
    • High tolerance is required
    • Nesting yield is important
    • Burned edge is unacceptable
    • Distortion is unacceptable
    • Additional machining is required

  • MACHINE TOOLS

    • Cutting large parts
    • Parts are hard on tools
    • Parts are brittle, hard or soft
    • Run length is intermediate
    • Tooling is expensive
    • Frequent design changes
    • Nesting yield is important