waterjet vs

Waterjet cutting competes favorably with the following cutting methods when:

 

edm

EDM

Cost is important

Parts are not conductive

Burned edge is unacceptable

Additional machining is required

laser

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

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

why waterjet

waterjet stream

Take 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