waterjet cutting

Process Description
The waterjet cutting process uses a low volume, very thin stream of ultra high pressure water for cutting high precision parts. This thin stream of water leaves the cutting head at over twice the speed of sound, which is why it is able to cut such a wide variety of materials. The application of the waterjet cutting process can be further categorized into two separate processes - abrasive and non-abrasive cutting.

Waterjet Cutting (Non-Abrasive)
The waterjet cutting process begins with an ultra high pressure pump that can deliver water at pressures up to 60,000 PSI through a plumbing system to a cutting head. Inside the cutting head, a sapphire, ruby, or diamond orifice restricts the high pressure water flow to a diameter ranging from 0.002" to 0.025". This focused stream of supersonic water is capable of cutting rubber, plastics, food, insulation, cardboard, carpeting, and many other soft materials. As most of these materials are so easily cut, a large number of water jet systems purchased for cutting soft materials are configured with two or more cutting heads, thereby greatly increasing the production capability of the machine.

Waterjet Cutting (Abrasive)
Harder materials can be cut when an abrasive powder, such as garnet, is mixed in with the stream of water. The abrasive cutting head incorporates a mixing chamber below the orifice. The flow of high pressure water through this chamber creates a venturi effect, which in turn draws abrasive powder into the stream. This abrasive enriched waterjet stream is then re-focused by a mixing tube, which typically has an internal diameter between 0.020" to 0.050". The exiting abrasive stream produces a kerf width that is roughly the same size as the nozzle ID and is ideal for cutting aluminum, steel, titanium, granite, marble, composites, wood, glass and many other materials.