Water Jet

Introduction to Water Jets

Waterjets are a versatile machining technology that utilizes a high-pressure stream of water, often mixed with an abrasive garnet, to cut a wide variety of materials. This process, known as abrasive waterjet cutting, allows for intricate and precise cuts without introducing heat-affected zones, making it ideal for materials sensitive to thermal distortion like aluminum, stainless steel, and composites. Pure waterjet cutting, without abrasives, is employed for softer materials such as rubber, foam, and food products. The cutting action is achieved by the erosive force of the high-velocity stream, capable of slicing through thicknesses ranging from thin foils to several inches of solid material with minimal kerf and excellent edge quality.

Best Practices

• When preparing .dxf file from Solidworks, copy extruded faces, or flat faces in general. Do not copy sketchs - doing so will create very messy files that the Waterjet cannot rear.
• For holes with require high precision, such as threaded holes or close fit through holes, water jet a small diameter and drill it to the desired size afterwards.
• Zeroing the Z dimension properly is very important. Check the height on several different locations throughout the part – best practice is to zero at the highest point. Setting the Z too low will result in a poor cut or damage the machine. Significant height variations across the stock may result from either improper clamping or a deformed part, in which case it should not be used.
• When clamping stock, minimize the moment caused by the clamping force, i.e., don't clamp on an overhang.

Special Use Cases

Composite Materials

• Select “brittle materials”, but do not select “low pressure”. “Low pressure” may be automatically toggled when selecting “brittle materials”, so you have to turn it off. The computer may also give a warning for using “brittle materials” without “low pressure” – ignore this error. Low pressure stops the machine from using garnet.
• Set the water level just below the stock, as composite stock may float.
• Setting the Z height too low may result in composite stock delaminating.