Waterjet Cutting Machine

Waterjet machines are an essential tool for leading metal fabricators, as they have the ability to cut all metals, such as; hardened tool steel, aluminum, titanium, copper, brass, and other exotic metals easily. The cold cutting process that takes place during machine operation eliminates heat zones that often causes changes of chemical and mechanical attributes within the product. Cutting metal parts submerged in the bed of water also increases the safety within the workshop, as dust particles & metal filaments are instantly caught by the Waterjet cutting bed.

Waterjet cutting is not only the preferred choice because of its safety and finishing features, but its ability to be able to cut up to twelve inches (300mm) of steel. This benefit gives metal fabricators more design freedom when quoting projects and speeds up their production line, making their workshops more efficient when completing a project. The Waterjet machine produces an extremely smooth and clean cut. The edge quality allows for secondary operations, such as tapping of holes, milling of features, or welding of edges to be quickly and simply performed without any further preparation.

Cutting glass can be quite a time consuming and costly process because of the amount of tooling changes required with other cutting processes. The design of the cutting bed and 5 axis cutting head means you can simply change your glass panel over and start cutting your next product almost instantly. No matter how intricate or complex the design, the cold water cutting process gives you the accuracy you need when cutting such a delicate material and eliminate any imperfections likely to be caused during the cutting process.

Our waterjet machines are ideally used for cut-outs, holes in splashbacks, frameless showers, mirrors and all architectural applications when applied to glass. As waterjet cutting is so often used on glass, a wide range of Glass industry-standard shapes are already pre-programmed into our waterjet cutting software.

Waterjet cutting machines are becoming one of the most versatile and preferred machines around the world for precise cutting of both natural and man made stones. The waterjet’s ability to cleanly cut stones like Granite, Marble, Porcelain, Dekton, Ceaserstone & Neolith overcomes the issues that come with less advanced, traditional cutting methods. Using drills, saws and milling cutters on hard abrasive stones is slow and expensive due to the wear and tear of expensive cutting tools. Waterjet typically produces a more precise cut, due to the fact it requires no force to be exerted onto the material, unlike cutting blades and tools which exert a lot of force on the stone, especially when mitering on 45-degree angles. Additionally, the risks associated with silica in man-made stones are eliminated due to the wet cutting process that our waterjet machines use.

Our Waterjet machines help you save on costs, but you also save time due to the highly intelligent Softec software.  Our all in one computer-based software gives you the freedom to complete complex cutting patterns such as finished sink and tap holes in one simple operation. You can use a CAD design or choose from our library of pre-loaded configurations to easily bring your stone from concept to finished part.

Efficient production from small to large series

When cutting soft materials like rubber, plastics and foam, there is no need for abrasives. For soft materials, the pure water jet cutting process (PWJ) is a priority alternative. PWJ cuts rapidly with very narrow cuts of 0.1 mm When it comes to soft materials, the water jet technology brings benefits for both small- and large-scale production. There is no need for punching tools.

With simple CNC programming you can produce one single part quickly – and with a beam you can mount a large number of parallel cutting heads, thus cutting very large volumes simultaneously.

Less tool wear and almost any shape

There is an increased use for composite materials in many industries, yet there are few machine tools that are really suitable for processing these materials. One major challenge is tool wear. Usually, water jet cutting implies no extra tool wear and also offers the option to cut almost any shape. This is why this technology is widely considered the best alternative for composite processing.

The term composite comprises a wide range of materials with different characteristics:Kevlar, carbon fibre, glass fibre, non-woven materials, composite resins, etc. Therefore, what cutting process will turn out most efficient depends on the the material – Abrasive Water Jet cutting (AWJ), Fine Abrasive Water Jet cutting (FAWJ) or Pure Water Jet cutting (PWJ).

The waterjet cutting process is versatile and can be accomplished in various ways. Most methods include an abrasive added into the water to help cut particles from the workpiece into a shape meeting precise specifications. Here is how the waterjet process works:

Determining Kerf Width

Kerf width refers to the material removed during the CNC waterjet process, typically 0.040 inches wide or less. The kerf size is a critical design factor and must be accounted for when determining the dimensions of the final product. The dimensions of the final part will only be accurate if the kerf is taken into consideration upfront.

Initial Waterjet Piercing

Piercing is another name for the first cut the waterjet cutter makes, and it starts the water jet cutting process, much like a plunge cut might initiate the beginning of a lathe process. The most common methods of piercing include stationary, linear, circular, and low pressure, depending on the material and the least amount of scrap produced.

Pressurizing the Water

The most often used method of pressurizing the water is a linear intensifier. Linear intensifier pumps use pressurized hydraulic oil at a pressure of 3000 psi. The low-pressure oil pushes against a piston with a face area twenty times larger than the high-pressure plunger that pushes against the water. Because the low-pressure pump is twenty times larger than the high-pressure pump, the pressure on the larger plunger is intensified twenty-fold, producing a water pressure of 60,000 psi.

Traveling Through the Tubing

The pressurized water moves through high-pressure tubing to the cutting head. The tubing is made from thermoplastic or stainless steel and has exceptional tensile strength, yield, and a smooth interior surface.

Waterjet Cutting Head

The pressurized water and garnet exit the cutting head’s orifice at nearly four times the speed of sound and can cut steel over one foot thick. As the water passes through the orifice of the cutting head, made of diamond, ruby, or sapphire with a .010” to .015” hole, its velocity increases to over 90,000 psi, directly affecting the waterjet cutting process.

The CNC water jet cutting process provides many advantages that are unmatchable with other cutting techniques. Some of these benefits are:

• No Heat-affected Zones: Heat-affected zones are caused by localized heating due to cutting friction. Water is a coolant in itself. Therefore, water jet cutting causes no heat-affected zones.
• Preserving Material Integrity: The material integrity remains intact due to the absence of heat zones. There are no burn marks on the material surface.
• Precision: The narrow stream of water results in a very high-precision cutting process. Water jet cutting has higher accuracy than alternative cutting methods.
• Edge Quality: Water jet cutting has a superior edge quality. This is the result of the material erosion that takes place on a particle level. Waterjet cut parts require no secondary finishing.
• No-contact Cutting: Water jet cutting does not require the contact of the tool with the workpiece. The high-pressure stream is enough to make the incision. This reduces the tool wear and calls for less frequent tool changes.
• Costs: Water jet cutting keeps the cost of operation manageable. Pure water jet cutting is a very cheap process. Abrasive water jet cutting has the cost of abrasive as the primary operational cost.
• Versatile: Waterjet cutter is the most versatile cutting option out there. It can handle all cutting materials regardless of their shape or form. This includes metals, non-metals, ceramics, composites, glass, paper, etc.

Abrasive waterjets are relatively new and have become candidates to replace traditional processes like drilling, profile milling, gear cutting, slitting, broaching, and sawing in various industries. The approximate price for a 2-axis abrasive system should be between $100,000 and $200,000, and a water-only CNC waterjet is usually in the $50,000 and $100,000 range.

There are other types of waterjet cutting machines, including 3D Printers, micro waterjets, and robotic waterjets. However, the style of any waterjet cutter is determined by its gantry design, which is the system that holds and supports the cutting head:

• Cantilever Gantry Machines: These have one arm over the table holding the cutting tool. They’re easy to use but can’t handle big pieces of material.
• Bridge Style Gantry Machines: These have a bar across the table, which the cutter moves along. They’re known for being stable and are good for cutting large things.
• Flying Bridge Gantry Machines: Similar to bridge style, but the whole top part moves with the cutter. They’re used for very accurate cutting on big machines.
• Articulated Arm Gantry Machines: These cutters have a bendable arm, like robot arms, to move the cutter. They’re best for detailed cuts or small spaces.

CNC waterjet cutting can have a tolerance as low as ± 0.002”. This makes CNC waterjet cutting one of the most accurate cutting methods. The exact tolerance of water jet cutting process depends on the particular material being cut. Maintaining the machine and doing the setup right can increase the precision of waterjet cutting.