Whether you are new to waterjet cutting or already manufactured with waterjet technology, it is always important to be aware of the benefits of waterjet cutting. This article explains the five benefits of waterjet cutting, helping you to make a good quality business decision.
First of all, two kinds of waterjet cutting methods exist, namely pure and abrasive waterjet cutting. The difference is that pure waterjet cutting is used for cutting soft materials like foam or paper by using the water stream solely for cutting.
Whereas, for abrasive waterjet cutting, a granular abrasive is added to the water stream. The fine abrasive accelerates the power of the cutting stream, enabling hard materials such as metal or ceramics to be easily cut.
Below are five waterjet cutting benefits outlined, enhancing your overall waterjet technology know-how!
1. No material limitations
Waterjet cutting is versatile and applicable, cutting nearly any material; composites, plastics, metals, glass, stone or rock, ceramics, and rubber. With the addition of a granular abrasive, a waterjet cutting machine can perform quality cuts on materials up to 200 mm in thickness.
2. No Heat Affected Zone (HAZ)
A significant advantage of waterjet cutting is that no heat-affected zone (HAZ) occurs due to its cold-cutting method. Not only does cold cutting enable clean cuts, but it also significantly increases the operators’ safety by eliminating the risks of burns.
3. No material distortion
The heat exposure can be bypassed through its cold-cutting method, which is especially critical for materials like metal, leading to a fine cut without distortion in the material. This results in a smooth and burr-free amount.
4. No additional finishing process
The immediate high cutting quality ensures a precise result, avoiding an additional finishing process. This significantly accelerates the cutting process and saves time, increasing overall efficiency.
5. No hazardous waste
The growing importance of environmentally friendly processes throughout the industries is becoming more apparent. A significant advantage of waterjet cutting is that it does not create any hazardous waste from fumes and gases, unlike other cutting technologies.
After digging a bit online, we found a company to use as a reference for this article. It is Finepart.
Finepart strives to be a world-leading provider of non-thermal precision cutting for fine mechanics. The company is a public innovative and technology-oriented entity that develops and sells the FinecutTM machine for component manufacturing with high precision.
The micro abrasive waterjet cutting technology utilizes ultra-high pressure water to create a jet that accelerates fine grit (abrasives) and removes material by particle erosion.
Finecut AB initially developed the Finecut machine in 2006. It was first displayed publicly on Tekniska mässan in Stockholm, Sweden 2009, and the two first machines were sold the same year.
Finepart Sweden acquired all patents, trademarks, and rights to the Finecut technology in 2012. The principal engineers for the Finecut technology, Dr. Christian Öjmertz and research engineer Mr. Don Miller, are both still active within Finepart Sweden AB.
One of the features of its company to achieve success is “The machine design.” The innovative approach of the development team has led to the creation of an exemplary mechanical machine, not built like traditional waterjet cutting tables but instead a conceptual design of a specific machine tool.
This machine concept, along with the application of state-of-the-art technology and components, provides unique opportunities for developing advanced multi-axis motion solutions that can offer solutions to complex manufacturing challenges and a very flexible range of applications.
Ajeta Sinha
Ajeta is passionate for excellence with commitment towards work. She founded BO Herald with an aim to create a cutting-edge online platform for readers who seek unlimited access to quality news pieces. She jots down articles for Economy section.
