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What is Abrasive Water Jet?
An abrasive waterjet is a machining tool usually used
for cutting or piercing a vast array of materials.
How does Abrasive Waterjet work?
Waterjet uses the technology of high pressure water
being forced through a small hole to concentrate enough energy to
cut a diverse array of materials. Water pressure ranges anywhere
from 50,000 – 60,000 p.s.i. The small hole or orifice ranges
from .005 to .013 inches in diameter. The water is mixed with a
fine abrasive (usually garnet) in a mixing tube called a nozzle.
The flow exits the nozzle and makes contact with the material to
be cut. Hazing of the material can occur if the nozzle is too far
away from the material, however the nozzle can clog if it is too
close to the material when the flow exits the nozzle.
What are the advantages of waterjet cutting over
other cutting methods?
- Optimize material yield
- Process multiple layers with many types of materials
- No thermal effect on sensitive materials
- No mechanical stresses induced during cutting
- No heat build-up in the part
- Parts processed from customer supplied CAD files,
drawings or even the part itself
- Combines the cutting and machining operations into
one operation.
- Omni-directional cutting permits complex shapes
How thick/thin can the material be?
Virtually any material can be cut, from 0.010”
to 6” thick, and in some materials even thicker cuts can be
accomplished.
What is the best edge finish?
The cutting edge finish can be controlled by speeding
up or slowing down the cutting process, by adding more or less abrasive,
or making other equipment adjustments. The customer can dictate
the edge quality that is necessary. The quality of the edge requested
does effect the price.
Is
there a taper on the material?
 Taper or stream lag are associated with waterjet cutting.
Our Dynamic Waterjet will virturally eliminate this taper effect,
and it will cut at a higher speed than conventional waterjets. This
in turn saves the customer money.
What information is needed to receive the most accurate quote?
The waterjet has many settings and variables that affect part quality. JIT Companies arrives at a quote price by simulating the cutting process via computer. Because all of our work is custom it is usually best to talk to our technicians regarding the intricacies of your project. Our experienced technicians will strive to understand the final application of the part and the quality that you are trying to achieve. The request for quote survey on our request a quote page accompanied by a drawing will render a basic quote. However, to get the most accurate quote on your more involved waterjet cutting projects it is usually best to give us a call.
How closely can you nest parts with waterjet cutting?
The nesting of parts is a key factor in the optimization of material. With the water jet, parts can be nested to within 0.001 inches of each other.
Are you able to cut laminates without having them delaminate?
Laminates are always tricky. The introduction of heat can cause the laminates to melt or discolor at the cut edge within the heat affected zone (HAZ). Waterjet cutting does eliminate the introduction of heat, but the powerful waterjet stream can also cause delaminating; when the piercing stream hits the top layer of material the stream tends to spread out and will cause delaminating in the subsequent layers. At JIT Companies our Flow® Water jets are equipped with a low pressure pierce function which helps to alleviate this delaminating problem. It is also the only way to cut laminated glass.
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