What is the process?
Waterjet cutting is simply an accelerated erosion process within a selected material. Highly pressurised water is fired through a ruby or diamond nozzle into a mixing chamber. This pressure creates a vacuum and draws garnet sand into the stream where it is then fired at the object in place for cutting. The sand particles eat away at the material causing the effect of erosion to take place at such a high speed it is deemed as cutting. This has allowed waterjet cutting to become an extremely powerful and versatile tool that is used in many industries around the world.
A waterjet cutter is a machine that is made up of three main components to utilise a high-pressure stream of water to erode a narrow line within a piece of material. Depending on the material’s density and compound such as titanium a granular abrasive is added to the waterjet to increase the cutting power. The abrasive is added at the nozzle so that a simple switch between only water and abrasive cutting can be made.
The abrasive Waterjet cutting nozzle uses the configuration of a mixing chamber and a tube to allow for the abrasive to carefully mix in with the high-pressure water so that efficient cutting can take place. Waterjet nozzles are also designed without the abrasive mixing chamber and tube so that the nozzle itself fires high-pressure water which would be used to cut much softer materials, versus the abrasive solution.
All Techniwater jet nozzles are individually tested within our factory to ensure that the configuration and design of the nozzle meet our standards and guidelines. This ensures long-lasting use and efficient cutting.
Waterjet cutting offers manufacturers with versatility and flexibility like no other. The range of benefits associated with using waterjet cutting is what gives this technology its edge over its competition such as laser and saw cutting.
Superior Edge Quality
The superior edge quality is achieved by using a combination of water speed, pressure, nozzle size and abrasive flow rate. In many cases waterjet cutting eliminates the need for secondary finishing, which saves a substantial amount of time, cost and improves the efficiency within your production line.
Gain Efficiency & Save On Cost in Your Workshop
Waterjet cutting is becoming one of the most cost-effective solutions on the market because it is a cold cutting process. Alternative hot cutting techniques face the likelihood of their parts/fittings experiencing heat zones which often cause the parts to warp making them inaccurate and unusable. Waterjet overcomes this quite easily with its cold cutting process so that chances of you throwing away material will virtually become non-existent.
Time and efficiency in your workshop will improve due to the fact that waterjet cutting requires little edge treatment or secondary finishing after the cut is made. This means you are able to make a start onto your next cut or project whilst others who use alternative cutting methods are still wasting time and resources refining their edges.
Super Accurate Internal Cut-outs
Material & Thickness Don’t Matter When Using A Waterjet Cutting Machine
No Heat Affected Zones
No Tool Changes Required
Waterjet cutting is becoming more popular around the world because of the versatility and the benefits it can provide to a wide range of industries. Learn about the range of applications that this waterjet cutting process can provide to your industry, business or production line.
Stone & Tiles
With its ability to easily cut to size, mitre edges, cut sinks and make tap holes in one operation, waterjet is becoming an all in one solution to kitchen and benchtop manufacturers.
The wet cutting process eliminates the risk of inaccurate cuts, dust emissions, heat zones and burnt edges so that benchtops can be manufactured right the first time. A full range of products can be cut quickly such as reconstituted engineered stone, porcelain, marble and granite meaning bottlenecks within products are no longer experienced.
Glass
Waterjet cutting has become an extremely fast process when cutting glass compared to traditional methods. It is now commonly known as the industry standard as method of choice because it is the most cost-effective way of processing full pieces of glass which require shaping or internal cut outs. Other traditional methods such as CNC machining are often too slow when cutting glass causing bottlenecks in companies production lines.
As glass is quite a brittle and fragile material, the cold cutting process works perfectly for making intricate cuts without causing cracks or microcracks within the material.
Commonly manufactured
PowerPoint Cut Outs | Kitchen and Bathroom Splashbacks | Frameless Shower Screens | Mirrors | Tabletop Inlays | Coffee Table Designs | Window Panels
Metal
Metal fabricators are choosing waterjet over other alternative methods in their day to day part cutting operations. Waterjet provides fabricators and other manufacturers with an extremely versatile cutting process that allows you to cut your full range of metal material with one tool. The cold cutting process once again is where waterjet sets itself apart within metal fabrication as it can cut parts to high tolerances with no heat stain and no secondary finishing.
Types of metal material
Aluminium | Stainless | Copper | Hardened Steels
Food
Waterjet cutting has become predominate within the food industry because of the safety it provides with preventing cross contamination for occurring between foods. It is also proving to be an ideal method of portioning foods because of the accuracy of the cuts. For large food corporations this provides amazing savings on time, increases product shelf life and provides and extra level of safety as blades are not being used to cut the foods.
Common Food Industries
Meat | Poultry | Vegetable | Fruits | Frozen Food | Cakes & Desserts
Aerospace
In an industry where there is no margin for error the precision required within this manufacturing process is second to none. Waterjet cutting is used to make components for jet engines and turbine blades as well as composite materials for aircrafts because it undoubtably delivers this type of precision every single time. The absence of heat affected zones in waterjet cutting means that there is no danger of microscopic cracks or warping’s that could potentially be life threatening. The adaptability that waterjet provides means that parts can be cut and manufactured to scale.
Automotive
Automotive manufacturers use waterjet cutting because of the benefits it provides in being versatile with cutting different components such as headliners, door panels, carpets all from the one machine. In addition, these material types can be cut with speed and accuracy without having to change anything but the cut software programming.
Some of the materials required to be cut within the automotive manufacturing process can be deemed as hazardous if they are affected by heat zones. Many manufactures face safety compliances to be met because of the toxic fumes that can be caused by cutting these materials with alternative methods. Waterjet cutters eliminate all of these risks because of the cold cutting process that is used when cutting objects.
Smooth and rough free edges mean manufacturers can cut once and expect a finished product, speeding up workshop efficiency in getting the car from design to on the road in a shorter amount of time.
Composites
Composite materials are reinforced for greater strength so cutting these materials requires a different approach than cutting metal materials. Traditional techniques are often found to be non-profitable as conventional cutters will cause the parts to wear out and require quicker replacement. Because Waterjet cutting uses an erosion process composite material can be cut without facing the likelihood of the material losing its strength, making it more suitable for applications in the medical and aerospace industry.
Stone & Tiles
Stone & Tiles
With its ability to easily cut to size, mitre edges, cut sinks and make tap holes in one operation, waterjet is becoming an all in one solution to kitchen and benchtop manufacturers.
The wet cutting process eliminates the risk of inaccurate cuts, dust emissions, heat zones and burnt edges so that benchtops can be manufactured right the first time. A full range of products can be cut quickly such as reconstituted engineered stone, porcelain, marble and granite meaning bottlenecks within products are no longer experienced.
Glass
Glass
Waterjet cutting has become and extremely fast process when cutting glass compared to traditional methods. It is now commonly known as the industry standard as method of choice and it is because it is the most cost-effective way of processing full pieces of glass which require shaping or internal cut outs. Other traditional methods such as CNC machining are often too slow when cutting glass causing bottlenecks in companies production lines.
As glass is quite a brittle and fragile material, the cold cutting process works perfectly for making intricate cuts without causing cracks or microcracks within the material.
Commonly manufactured
PowerPoint Cut Outs | Kitchen and Bathroom Splashbacks | Frameless Shower Screens | Mirrors | Tabletop Inlays | Coffee Table Designs | Window Panels
Metal
Metal
Metal fabricators are choosing waterjet over other alternative methods in their day to day part cutting operations. Waterjet provides fabricators and other manufacturers with an extremely versatile cutting process that allows you to cut your full range of metal material with one tool. The cold cutting process once again is where waterjet sets itself apart within metal fabrication as it can cut parts to high tolerances with no heat stain and no secondary finishing.
Types of metal material
Aluminium | Stainless | Copper | Hardened Steels
Food
Food
Waterjet cutting has become predominate within the food industry because of the safety it provides with preventing cross contamination for occurring between foods. It is also proving to be an ideal method of portioning foods because of the accuracy of the cuts. For large food corporations this provides amazing savings on time, increases product shelf life and provides and extra level of safety as blades are not being used to cut the foods.
Common Food Industries
Meat | Poultry | Vegetable | Fruits | Frozen Food | Cakes & Desserts
Aerospace
Aerospace
In an industry where there is no margin for error the precision required within this manufacturing process is second to none. Waterjet cutting is used to make components for jet engines and turbine blades as well as composite materials for aircrafts because it undoubtably delivers this type of precision every single time. The absence of heat affected zones in waterjet cutting means that there is no danger of microscopic cracks or warping’s that could potentially be life threatening. The adaptability that waterjet provides means that parts can be cut and manufactured to scale.
Automotive
Automotive
Automotive manufacturers are turning to use water cutting because of the benefits it provides in being versatile with cutting different components such as headliners, door panels, carpets all from the one machine. In addition, these material types can be cut with speed and accuracy with having to change anything but the cut software programming.
Some of the materials required to be cut within the automotive manufacturing process can be deemed as hazardous if they are affected by heat zones. Many manufactures face safety compliances to be met because of the toxic fumes that can be caused by cutting these materials with alternative methods. Waterjet cutters eliminate all of these risks because of the cold cutting process that is used when cutting objects.
Smooth and rough free edges mean manufacturers can cut once and expect a finished product, speeding up workshop efficiency of getting the car from design to on road in a smaller amount of time.
Composites
Composites
Composite materials are reinforced for greater strength so cutting these materials requires a different approach than cutting metal materials. Traditional techniques are often found to be non-profitable as the conventional cutters will cause the parts to wear out and require quicker replacement. Because Waterjet cutting uses an erosion process composite material can be cut without facing the likelihood of the material losing its strength, making it more suitable for applications in the medical and aerospace industry.
We often tell these people that each method is different, but in order to make it easier to choose we thought that we would directly compare Waterjet cutting with traditional methods. In this section we will answer some of the most commonly asked questions so that you can make an informed decision about what method would best suit you.
What are the most common applications used in each?
| Waterjet | Laser | Plasma | Mechanical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cutting stone plastics ceramics thick metals reflective metals foods composites rubber & glass | Metals excluding reflective | All metals | Stone, Plastics, ceramics, thick metals, reflective metals, foods, composites, rubber & glass |
What stress might each cause to a material through the cutting process?
| Waterjet | Laser | Plasma | Mechanical |
|---|---|---|---|
| The material will not experience any stress or undergo and molecular change as waterjet uses a cold cutting process. | Deformation, tempering and structural changes may occur | Deformation, tempering and structural changes may occur | Deformation, tempering and structural changes may occur |
What is the running cost between each machine?
| Waterjet | Laser | Plasma | Mechanical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nozzle head | Protective glass, gas nozzle and optics | Cutting nozzles and electrodes | Table moveable parts and blades (frequently) |
What is the max thickness that each can cut?
| Waterjet | Laser | Plasma | Mechanical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 304 mm for most materials | Up to 25mm mild steels, 12mm stainless steels and 10mm aluminium | Up to 150mm | From 3mm to 10mm |
What types of cutting waste will each of these cutting techniques produce?
| Waterjet | Laser | Plasma | Mechanical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water and grit | Dust and fumes requiring vacuum extraction and filtering | Dust and fumes requiring vacuum extraction and filtering | Mostly dust |
What are the chances of secondary finishing needing to be applied to a cut?
| Waterjet | Laser | Plasma | Mechanical |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average energy consumption is 20,000 Watts | Average energy consumption is 40,000 Watts | Average energy consumption is 55,000 Watts |
Do you offer used equipment?
How can I determine whether my application will require abrasive?
How does a waterjet work?
How fast can a waterjet cut and how does it hold accuracy?
If I do not know what kind of system I need, whom should I contact?
How much does a complete waterjet system cost?
How thick can a waterjet cut?
Is my tap water acceptable? How will I know if it needs treatment?
Is your equipment portable? For example, can I take it along on construction sites, or tile installation jobs?
What are the basic components I will need?
What is unique about waterjet compared to other cutting technologies?
Waterjet allows tremendous flexibility and versatility in manufacturing and provides for more cutting possibilities. Simply put, “waterjet is by far, the most flexible and desirable technology in our business and delivers results with amazing reliability”, says one of the proud waterjet & laser job shop owners. Here are a few examples that set waterjet technology apart from the rest:
- Due to water’s cold nature, the material cut does not show heat affected zones
- Environmentally friendly, in that debris is removed by water, thereby reducing hazardous gases – a process, which other technologies cannot claim
- Cuts fragile materials like glass and stone with ease
- Cuts plastics without showing signs of noxious fumes
- Has the ability to perforate most materials without starting holes
- Saves raw materials due to small cutting kerf width
- Cuts composite materials without any special treatment
- And many more