Four Features that Make Waterjet Cutting the Right Choice for Your Next Metal Fabrication Job

Water jet cutting has grown to be a popular method of cutting for many different projects over the years. Waterjet cutting is more precise than other cutting methods and produces cleaner results. It also has lower costs.

This blog will help you decide if waterjet cutting would be the right choice for your next project. We will discuss the basics of waterjet cutting, as well as its most important uses and primary benefits.

How Does Waterjet Cutting Work?

Waterjet cutting machines make use of a high-pressure water stream, which is then converted into velocity through a jewel orifice. This creates a stream that is as fine as human hair.

High-velocity cutting can be used to cut almost any material. Pure water is best for cutting soft materials and abrasive wateriest for cutting harder materials. Abrasive cutting techniques use garnet as the abrasive. The stream is pumped with pressure to increase the cutting speed. The combination of water and abrasive causes the material to be eroded at a rapid rate.

The abrasive jet stream moves across the material following the measurements entered into the control system. The optimal movement speed is dependent on many factors such as the material, the part’s shape, and the type of the abrasive.

What are the primary benefits of waterjet cutting?

Can cut almost any material

Metals are the most common materials to be cut with a waterjet, especially aluminum because it is relatively soft and can be cut quickly. Waterjets can cut most materials. Waterjets can only cut tempered glass and diamonds. Diamonds are too difficult to cut and tempered glasses shatter when cut with a waterjet. Tempered glass, however, is designed to shatter when disturbed, which is why it’s often used in windshields.

Some advanced ceramics are too hard to cut economically. There are also composite materials (layers made of different materials that are sandwiched together) that can’t be cut because water can pressurize in-between layers, and “delaminate”, the materials. However, some composite materials can be cut perfectly and laminated materials can be cut quite efficiently.

There is no secondary finishing required usually takes only one session to achieve the cut you want. There is no need to finish the cut like with other methods. After it has been cut, it is ready to be taken with you. Waterjets are precise and deft, creating a smooth edge with minimal kerf. Wateriest streams typically have a stream of 0.02 inches wide. This results in a narrower kerf which removes very little material. This is especially useful if the operator has to work with hazardous or expensive material. When the kerf width of the material is small, it can help you save money and have more material.

Cold Cutting

Waterjet cutting, unlike other methods of cutting, is cold. Cold cutting is a process that generates very little heat on the parts being cut. The water absorbs the heat generated. This is a huge advantage when trying to make a product that doesn’t suffer from distortion due to heat-affected zones (HAZ).

HAZ refers to an area where high temperatures cause distortion to the base material. This can lead to chemical and structural changes, which can often create brightly colored bands around the zone. HAZ can cause damage to parts and distortion, which may lead to a flawed cut that needs secondary work.

Water jet cutting is a cold process. It does not heat the material so there are no heat-affected areas or thermal distortion.

It is useful for a variety of industries

Waterjet machines are versatile and can be used in a variety of industries. Here are some industries that can benefit from waterjet cutting.

Aerospace: We have created parts for aerospace and machined lots of aluminum on a water jet. Wateriest can be used to machine exotic metals such as titanium and Hastelloy. This is a crucial tool for the aerospace industry.

Manufacturing: Waterjets are often used in manufacturing to create parts for products and parts that are used on machines.

Automotive: Wateriest is able to help with prototyping, production parts for automobiles, and the tooling required for making them.

Waterjets are great for these types of applications because they can be quickly turned around in single-piece production.