Brief Introduction of Waterjet Cutting

When it comes to manufacturing cutting techniques, there are many options. What kind of technology you will think about? Waterjet cutting is one of the methods and will be introduced in this article. Waterjet cutting, at its simplest, is the process of a high-pressure jet of water cutting into a material. This article will show you information about waterjet cutting from the following aspects:

1. What is water cutting?

2. Waterjet cutting materials

3. Advantages of waterjet cutting

4. Types of waterjet cutting

5. How does waterjet cutting work?

What is waterjet cutting?

Waterjet cutting is a preferred method when the materials being cut are sensitive to high temperatures, such as plastics and aluminum, generated by other methods. Waterjet cutting uses a high-pressure stream of water mixed with an abrasive material to cut a wide range of materials. A high-pressure water pump pressurizes the water. This water flows through high-pressure tubing into the cutting head. In the cutting head, the water flows through a nozzle, turning it into an extremely fine stream. This stream cuts whatever material is placed in front of it.

Waterjet cutting materials

Waterjet cutting can be used for manufacturing many kinds of materials, including metal, wood, rubber, ceramics, glass, stone, tiles, food, fiberglass, plastics, cardboard, paper, composites, and insulation. It can also be applied in various industries, such as automotive, architecture, agriculture, aerospace, manufacturing, defense, glass, food processing, packaging, and other industries.

Advantages of waterjet cutting

Waterjet cutting has various advantages such as high accuracy, highly sustainable, no need for tool changes, cost-effective process, and compatibility with different materials. The accuracy depends on factors such as table stability, machine construction, abrasive flow rate, cutting stream control, stream lag, and process error. Waterjet cutting always can achieve high accuracy to manufacture workpieces. 

Besides the advantages above, waterjet cutting is a cold-cutting process, so the cutting rate will be performed without thermal influences on the manufactured material. And the thin waterjet can make a cutting of arbitrary outlines with precise cut accuracy and a very high quality possible. What’s more, during the waterjet cutting, the abrasion will not affect directly the material, so deformation of the material can be avoided. High productivity can be achieved by the simultaneous assignment of multiple heads.

Types of waterjet cutting

Depending on whether an abrasive substance is used or not, there are two types of waterjet cutting methods: abrasive waterjet cutting and pure waterjet cutting.

Abrasive waterjet cutting

Abrasive water cutting is a method with an abrasive substance. When cutting harder materials, abrasive substances are mixed with the water. Popular agents for abrasive waterjet cutting are suspended grit, garnet, and aluminum oxide. 

With the right abrasives, various material types can be cut. Common materials cut with abrasives are ceramics, metals, stones, and thick plastics. There are, however, certain exceptions such as tempered glass and diamonds that cannot be cut with abrasive water. Tempered glass shatters when cut with a water jet.

Pure waterjet cutting

Water jet cutters also work without the addition of abrasives, mainly to cut soft materials. A waterjet cutter designed only for this purpose does not have a mixing chamber or a nozzle. A high-pressure pump forces pressurized water out of an orifice to create precise cuts on the workpiece. Although most industrial cutting devices using waterjet technology enable the use of both methods. Pure waterjet cutting is ideal for softer materials like foam, felt, wood, rubber, food, and thin plastics.

How does waterjet cutting work?

A waterjet cutting machine, also known as a water jet cutter or water jet, is an industrial cutting tool capable of cutting a wide variety of materials practically in any form. A waterjet cutting machine is a non-thermal cutting method for waterjet cutting that is based on a high velocity of a waterjet.

The main principle of this equipment is the direction of a water stream at high pressure to the cutting head, which supplies flow onto the working material through waterjet cutters. Waterjet cutting may be performed either with the use of water without abrasive or with the abrasive. The former is used for shaping softer materials and the latter is intended for solid sheet materials.

Rely on ZZBETTER today

Waterjet machining is one of the fastest-developing machining processes. A lot of industries have adopted the process because of the high quality of cutting through diverse materials. Its environmental friendliness, and the fact that materials are not deformed by heat during cutting. 

Because of the high pressure generated during the process, industrial water jet cutting must be handled carefully by experts at all stages of cutting. At ZZBETTER, you can get experienced experts to handle all of your waterjet machining needs. We are also a one-stop rapid prototyping manufacturer, specializing in CNC Machining, sheet metal fabrication, rapid injection molding, and various types of surface finishes. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us and get a free quote today.

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