Table of Contents
What is waterjet cutting used for?
It is the preferred method when the materials being cut are sensitive to the high temperatures generated by other methods; examples of such materials include plastic and aluminum. Waterjet cutting is used in various industries, including mining and aerospace, for cutting, shaping, and reaming.
How is water jet cutting done?
Water Jet cutting uses an ultra-high pressure stream of water to carry an abrasive grit. The abrasive does the cutting through a mechanical sawing action, leaving a smooth, precision cut surface. Waterjet is the most versatile process, because it is able to cut almost any type of material.
Can a waterjet cut through anything?
A waterjet has the ability to cut through a “sandwich” of various materials with up to four-inch thickness. This dust-free, odourless and relatively heat-free process can also slice through something as thin as five thousandths of an inch. The tiny jet stream allows the first cut to also be the final finished surface.
Is water jet cutting expensive?
Waterjet cutting machines are expensive to purchase, operate, and maintain. When you request to use a waterjet you are going to have to pay for more than just time occupying and utilizing the machine.
How accurate is waterjet cutting?
Relatively speaking, a water jet cutting process is highly accurate. Once the cutting starts (meaning that the initial through hole is complete), a waterjet cutting machine can achieve a parts tolerance of +/- 0.001” with consistency. This makes the waterjet cutting process highly desirable for cutting precision parts.
What materials can be water jet cut?
Waterjet machines cut all types of metals: hardened tool steel, aluminum, titanium, and a host of exotic metals that prove difficult to cut with other tools or processes. Cutting with a waterjet produces a smooth edge with no burn marks, cracking or excess burrs.
What are the disadvantages of water jet cutting?
Disadvantages of Waterjet Cutting Cutting Time – While the waterjet cutter can cut most of the same materials, very often the cutting takes longer than a traditional cutter. Orifice Failure – Low quality waterjet orifices have a tendency to break down and disrupt cutting, resulting in lost time and productivity.
What kind of pump is used for water jet cutting?
There are two types of pumps used today in waterjet cutting: the linear intensifier pump and the rotary direct drive pump. Both intensifier and direct drive pumps are capable of reliably delivering ultrahigh-pressure water for heavy-duty industrial use for today’s manufacturers.
How thick of material can a waterjet cut?
Truly, a waterjet can cut up to any thickness, but tolerances will change the thicker the material being cut. Tight accuracies can be kept when cutting materials under 4 inches thick, a near net shape is achieved when cutting thicker materials.
Can waterjet cut iron?
A waterjet is a tool used in machine shops to cut metal parts with a (very) high-pressure stream of water. As amazing as it sounds, if you get water flowing fast enough it can actually cut metal. Unlike metal cutters, a waterjet never gets dull and it cannot overheat.
How thick of metal can a waterjet cut?
Practically speaking 2″ (5 cm) to 3″ (7.5 cm) thick steel is about the upper thickness limit for an abrasive waterjet. If you want to cut steel that is thicker than 3″ (7.5 cm), the time to cut goes up significantly and it becomes less and less cost-effective to use a waterjet.
How much is a water jet machine?
Pricing for small waterjet cutting systems can start around $60k and complete custom systems can reach into the millions. It all depends on your application. You should also factor delivery and disposal costs into your cost for abrasive.
Is waterjet cutting cheaper than laser cutting?
Plasma operating cost would again be the lowest, and is typically estimated at approximately $15/hour. The cost of laser would be slightly higher, typically estimated at around $20/hour. Waterjet is usually considered to be the most expensive, typically estimated at about $30/hour.
How much is a water jet table?
Traditional waterjets cost upwards of $100,000 and are too large and messy to fit in most workshops. WAZER costs $7,500.
What is kerf in water jet cutting?
“Kerf” is a machining term which refers to the amount of material removed during cutting. Typically, the waterjet Kerf is between 0.030″ to 0.040″ (0.76 mm to 1.02 mm), depending on pump pressure, application, the level of precision and cutting edge requirements.
How much water does a waterjet use?
Waterjets use between one half and five gallons (2 to 19 liters) of water per minute when cutting. Some of that water is used to cut and some of it is used to cool the pump.
Why are water jets so powerful?
High-pressure pumps supply the water to the waterjet nozzle. The reason the water stream is powerful is that as it flows out of the waterjet nozzle at very high velocity, the aerodynamic drag acts as a boundary for the stream. This slows down the water and causes it to spread.
Can you waterjet Inconel?
uses a waterjet cutting process to manufacture these lock plates for a client in the gas turbine industry. Working from a base of Inconel blanks, this is a one-pass waterjet cutting operation, cutting the 1.25″ thick plate to its 4.5″ x 3″ dimensions as well as a precision 0.60″ slot.
Can you waterjet fiberglass?
Fiberglass. When cutting materials that are typically associated with hazardous fine airborne materials, waterjet is an ideal solution.
Can you waterjet acrylic?
Plastic and Acrylic Cutting with Waterjet Unlike abrasive waterjet cutting, however, only pure waterjet is used to cut plastics and acrylics. The clean, very thin waterjet stream (thinner than a strand of human hair) does not cause the material being cut to absorb water, maintaining the integrity of the materials.
Why is a water jet not a popular choice for cutting metal?
Some Downsides to Waterjet Cutting. As with a laser beam, the waterjet cutting stream is most effective when it is most concentrated. But when cutting through tubing, voids can cause the stream to diffuse, rapidly losing its accuracy and cutting ability.
