Water Jet Cutting, Advantages and Applications
Waterjet cutting is a revolutionary process, in which today it is of maximum utility, and is beginning to be a common resource when machining parts.
Turning out to be a very versatile tool whose application can be extended to practically all industrial jobs.
We could highlight this process, which is of a mechanical nature, in which it is possible to cut any material, making a jet of water impact on it at high speed, producing the desired finish.
“At Proteval, we consider that cold cutting is a procedure of great interest since it is in demand in all applications in which the material cannot be affected by heat, and there are numerous advantages that make it an outstanding and demanded product. in the industrial world, compared to other methods that could be more limited. “
Main Advantages to consider:
- It is a process without heat input.
- There are no residual stresses, being pressure-free in the cuts.
- There is no pollution or gases, it respects the environment.
- Machining can be done by the same engineer who designed the part.
- Reuse of parts from other jobs, so this would lower the final production costs.
- If we compare it with other cutting systems such as plasma, oxyfuel and laser, since these three provide heat, and the water does not, the latter allows work without affecting any area of the material on which it works.
- If we only compare it with the laser, the waterjet cutting allows much greater thickness cuts.
“From Proteval (Aldaya, Valencia) we encourage you to come and see the operation of this machine, you will be convinced of its usefulness, and any questions you have we will be delighted to answer.”
What Equipment would be needed for a Waterjet Cutting site?
The Team would be composed mainly of two Rooms where it would be located, the Technical Office and another where the Workshop or logistics center would be located:
Technical office
In charge of designing the piece.
Workshop
It would be the logistics center where orders are received from the Technical Office, and where the work order on the waterjet cutting machine is executed, it would consist of:
- A pool of water, where the machining work is carried out.
- Nozzle through which the water jet comes out.
- Cooling center: it is used so that all this mechanical system used to carry out the machining does not suffer from overheating, since without this element the machine would burn. The pump that it has moves the refrigerant stored in the adjoining tanks.
- Abrasive deposit, this external deposit is essential since the abrasive is added to the water from it, since without it the cut could not be made on certain materials.
- Water softener to avoid clogging the pipes.
- Abrasive scrubber, once the cutting fluid mechanizes the piece and is deposited in the basin, since for this reason there needs to be a scrubber located at the base of the basin that separates the abrasive from the water, storing it in a compartment located next to the raft, to be able to be reused again and thus reduce costs.
Materials to which it is applied
As mentioned above, there are two processes in which Water Jet cutting will be used to certain materials,
- Without adding abrasive
- Adding an abrasive
| MATERIALS | WITHOUT ABRASIVE | WITH ABRASIVE |
| India Rubber | X | |
| Vehicle upholstery | X | |
| Polypropylene | X | |
| Paperboard | X | |
| Paper | X | |
| Rubber | X | |
| Foam | X | |
| Packaging materials | X | |
| Fiberglass | X | |
| Any type of material that is not metallic | X | |
| Kevlar | X | |
| Glass | X | |
| Epoxy graphite | X | |
| Ceramics | X | |
| Marble | X | |
| Concrete beams | X | |
| Titanium | X | |
| Aluminum bronze | X | |
| Granite | X | |
| Aluminium | X | |
| Steel | X | |
| Carbon steel | X | |
| Stainless Steel | X | |
| Tempered steel | X | |
| Brass | X | |
| Other materials with thicknesses of a maximum of 200mm. | X |
Main Industrial Applications with Waterjet Cutting:
As has been seen in the previous table, the number of applications is infinite, but if the most outstanding ones are analyzed, they could be listed in:
1. Aerospace Industry
Machining of sheets of high-strength aluminum alloys and titanium alloys. Being cheaper than the milling mechanism, since simpler clamping systems are needed.
2. Naval industry
For surface preparation, such as cleaning boat hulls and automotive paint.
3. Automovile industry
Cutting of the interior panels of the doors made of wood fiber, made by autonomous robots.
Applying to brake shoe cutting, which eliminates the problem of friction material particles floating through the air.
4. Textile industry
It is used for cutting carpets, obtaining better results than in shear cutting, and than in heat cutting, especially in short series.
5. Ceramic industry
Widely used for cutting ceramic materials where the use of metal tools suffers great wear and tear and the use of diamond blades does not allow obtaining complicated contours.
6. Machining industry
It is used for the machining of parts of all kinds, from washers, sheets …
7. Footwear industry
It is used to cut fabrics, leathers, skins and synthetic materials such as the rubbers used in the soles.
At Proteval, we are at your entire disposal so that you can ask us any need or question you may have, we will be happy to help you.
As you can see, water jet cutting has great advantages and endless applications, which gives great versatility to the vast majority of cutting jobs, offering great results saving time and processes.