What kinds of materials can be waterjet cut

What kinds of materials can be cut with a waterjet?
A waterjet cutting machine can cut both hard and soft materials. Soft materials are cut with water only, while hard materials require a stream of water mixed with fine grains of abrasive garnet. Materials including, titanium, stainless steel, aluminum, exotic alloys, composites, stone, marble, floor tile, glass, automotive headliners and door panels, gasket, foam, rubber, insulation, textile, and many more.

Waterjet cutting material

Will waterjet cut any material? What are its limitations?
There are some types of materials that are typically not good for the Water Jet Applications. Depending on the end use, wood is often a poor application, due to its fibers' absorption of water, which causes them to splay and become rough. Many fabrics do not cut well, as the fibers "squirm" out from under the cutting stream, rather than remain in place during the cutting process.

A few materials require the waterjet to cut through one layer, cross a void, then cut through another layer does not produce desirable results. The cutting stream does not remain cohesive after cutting through the upper layer, causing a poor edge quality on the next layer.

Advantages to Waterjet Cutting Machine

Advantages of Waterjet cutting
Waterjet cutting has many applications, and there are many reasons why waterjet cutting is preferable over other cutting methods. Listed below are several advantages, along with a brief explanation.

- In waterjet cutting, there is no heat generated. This is especially useful for cutting tool steel and other metals where excessive heat may change the properties of the material.

Advantage Waterjet Cutting Machine

- Unlike machining or grinding, waterjet cutting does not produce any dust or particles that are harmful if inhaled.
The kerf width in waterjet cutting is very small, and very little material is wasted.

- Waterjet cutting can be easily used to produce prototype parts very efficiently. An operator can program the dimensions of the part into the control station, and the waterjet will cut the part out exactly as programmed. This is much faster and cheaper than drawing detailed prints of a part and then having a machinist cut the part out.

- Waterjet cutting can be easily automated for production use.

- Waterjet cutting does not leave a burr or a rough edge, and eliminates other machining operations such as finish sanding and grinding.

- Waterjets are much lighter than equivalent laser cutters, and when mounted on an automated robot. This reduces the problems of accelerating and decelerating the robot head, as well as taking less energy.