What is waterjet cutting machine

What is Waterjet Cutting Machine
Water jet cutting is the process of cutting material using a jet of water at high pressure and velocity. The water, often mixed with an abrasive, is forced through a nozzle on one of the machine’s cutting heads and penetrates through the material positioned on the machine’s large cutting table. The shape of the piece, the speed at which it is processed, and the number of parts produced, are all computer controlled giving the operator precise control over the cutting process. The process starts with the customer’s design specifications. A technician programs the specifications into the water jet cutting machine’s software. The software not only allows the technician to control variables such as pressure and speed, it also determines where parts will be cut from the material to minimize waste. This process, called nesting, positions parts as closely as possible to maximize the number of parts that can be cut from a single piece of material.

Water cnc cutting machine

Once the water jet cutting machine is ready to process the part, material is loaded onto its cutting platform. There, a high-pressure pump supplies water to one or more of the water jet’s cutting heads and the pre-programmed cutting path is executed. If needed, an abrasive, such as garnet, is introduced to the water before it is ejected from the cutting head’s nozzles. Abrasives help the water cut through harder materials such as metal or stone. The water or water/abrasive mixture is discharged from the nozzles at ultra-high pressure (30,000 - 90,000 psi) and speed (2200 mph) which penetrates the material below. The powerful stream of water continues to slice through the material as the cutting heads move to create the preprogrammed shapes.