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I'm planning on using a waterjet job shop on an upcoming job. For me, the main drawback is the taper induced, which has to be taken into account.
-Jeff
water jet cutting is really cool
I have recently played with the waterjet cutting machine, and it is really
awsome. The water jet cutter can cut so many kinds of materials and it is really quick from just an idea to the cut out. waterjet cutting is really easy.
I have not had chance to use other cutting machines, can some one
here compare the waterjet cutter to other machines? pro and cons.
Thanks
IWM
http://www.iwmwaterjet.com
Similar Threads:
See:
www.waterjets.org
for more information.
I'm planning on using a waterjet job shop on an upcoming job. For me, the main drawback is the taper induced, which has to be taken into account.
-Jeff
Flow corps new jets have a small 5axis head and the computer automatically puts all the taper into the scrap, plus you can use as a limited 5 axis(15 degrees I think)
JP
I have run both water jets & lasers for 10 years. They both are great machines that have there advantages & disadvantages but they do share one, cost to operate. Water jets use a lot of water & garnet that can be costly, & the pumps go through a tremendous workout when cutting is being done. For thick materials or tough to machine superalloys, you cant beat a water jet. Lasers are like cheetas, they can burn through thin material with high cutting speeds, but optics can be very costly. Focusing lenses only last so long, & use a lot of gas & electricity to operate. Water jets & lasers can produce weld ready edges, but water jets do not produce a heat affected zone as with a laser. The military favors water jets for this reason, as there is no micro cracking on the edge of the part that could possibly lead to weld failure. New technology is making both these machines faster & more versitile (as JP posted). These are just a few of the many pros & cons that are very basic, as the water jet/laser debate could fill pages. Tom
Well said Tom...
Some other issues concerning waterjet cutting are the limitations of surface finish and close tolerances. That waterjet abrasive cut edge will be limited in quality, compared to machining. Obviousely, no shallow slot cutting or pocketing (yet). Some development is happening here, but realistically a mill is what is needed for features that are not thru.
Maybe the best part of waterjet cutting is very little fixturing is needed...
Scott_bob
My first post here,
We have a waterjet and cnc mills, and from a comparasion I have made the big advantage of waterjet vrs. machining is the set up time WJ only has one tool to program. On the other hand in most commen materials a CNC mill will greatly out run
the WJ.
John
i have two jets, and was here for some cnc help, but dont see many jet posts, should i maybe go elsewhere?
boomer187um,
Have you used the search tool to look for information on your question(s).
Here's my "just out of curiosity" question. Are WJs used much in the glass industry? If so, what about for cutting ????? (can't remember the proper name for Pyrex) or toughened glass? At what speed (ins/min) would they cut say 1/4" toughened? Anyone have experience with this?
we have cut glass on our WJ and I can say that glass tends to shatter after it has ben hardened, just like hitting it with a hammer. In the soft stage it can be cut with success still tricky. We have cut stone, tile, plastic, foam, rubber, wood, ect..Originally Posted by skippy
John
John, thanks for your answer. Without wanting to hijack this thread, does anyone have an answer to the following question. If you wanted to make a product out of glass and that product had to operate in an environment involving vibration and you wanted to minimise the risk of cracking, would you use a soft glass instead of toughened glass? Is there such a thing as a soft glass or is there just normal and toughened glass? I've tried to research this several times on internet but have never been able to find an answer. Thanks all.
The thing about tempered glass is that it is harder to break, but when you do, it shatters into a gazillion pieces. That's why it's used for windshields. Resists fracture, but when it does, it doesn't take your head off.
Tempering means you put the exterior of the panel in compression, and the interior in tension. When you pre-stress something in compression, it's much harder to crack or get crack propogation. Often done to concrete and train wheels.
Talk to a engineer with specific glass experience, but I'd probably think about tempered glass with a flexible gasket.
I'd be surprised if you can cut tempered glass without problems. Talk to glass table top companies.
That said, does anyone have experience cutting plywood (1/2" HCHV) with a waterjet? What do you think about that? What's up with the water absorption and warping?
-Jeff
Jeff,
What I had hope to convay early in the thread was that we had no luck in cuting tempered glass as to the fact that it shatters.
The wood is cutable but with less than disered results, any thing from warping to delaminating and the edge quality is not very high. The wood takes longer to cut than you would imagine so the cost is very high.
For the most acurate cuts in wood I would use a cnc router or a saw and I have had luck in thin wood with laser
Hope this helps
John
Nice link,
I have seen this stuff before and the machine they run the parts on was an Omax water jet I think that we may have even cut the file here at our shop.
At least we have cut a name in a file before.
John
John, Have you tried to "pre charge" your garnet when cutting tempered glass. We have played around with dwell times & found that if you hold the water off for a bit the garnet builds up & just blasts right through the glass before the water can shatter it. 1/4" to 3/8" masonite under the glass gives it uniform support also when the water hits it. This helps, but glass seems to be unpredictable no matter what. Tom
Tom,
We have tried changing time on the jet on garnnet on and even low and high pressure.
Where we had the most trouble was bullet proof glass. We found if you start from an edge you stand a better chance. And I would agree with you the glass has to want to be cut. LOL
we don't cut much glass now because of handiling.
Thanks for the info though
John
Re: water jet cutting is really cool
The most popular materials are metals (especially aluminum, because it's relatively soft and cuts quickly), because waterjets can cut intricate shapes to a high precision quickly and economically.
We have best quality waterjet cutting machine parts for you at kos, you may need some for your cnc waterjet cutting machine replacement.
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