How Waterjet Cutting Process Works and Its Benefits?
Using water to cut through items was discovered in the late 19th century. Miners induced high water pressure, enabling the removal of sediments and rock materials. Later, industries upgraded to narrowing the water beam to cut through soft materials. Nowadays, the technique is a norm for cutting through components of varying hardness. At Creatingway, we use the method as it is highly efficient and effective. Also, waterjet cutting is an eco-friendly procedure that helps preserve the environment. Here is further details information on how the process works to help improve your project’s end product.
How To Define Waterjet Cutting Process?
The waterjet cutting process uses a waterjet cutter for highly pressurized water. Such an act enables cutting through a variety of materials using water. There are various forms of water used for cutting. One is pure; as for the other, the water mixes with abrasives to increase cutting power. Also, manufacturers use the process of reaming and shaping materials.
Forms of Waterjet Cutting Technique
There are two central waterjet cutting techniques. The two vary in strength, so one needs to be well informed before choosing either.
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Abrasive Water Cutting Technique
The method uses abrasive particles together with ultra-high-pressure water. Such an addition produces a powerful cutting force, increasing the chances of cutting through more rigid materials. Some materials involved include metals, ceramics, rocks, and plastics. The abrasive ones are higher with 0.0375mm than pure waterjet nozzles. With such a nozzle, generating up to 6000 atmospheres is possible.
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Pure Waterjet Cutting Technique
The method uses only pressure induced in pure water to cut through items. Such a process is best applicable to thin materials. Some include wood, foam, foil, food, clothing, and cardboard. Unlike laser cutting and CNC cutting, the waterjet cutting process is a cold-cutting method that doesn’t generate heat.
How To Choose the Right Waterjet Cutting Method?
The material of an object dramatically determines the type of waterjet cutting process to use. Thicker and harder materials require greater cutting force hence abrasive waterjets are appropriate. Pure waterjets are best suited for inducing higher precision in geometrically complex materials. Also, the process is highly favored in the medicine and the food industry. Whereby the field requires strict requirements of not involving foreign materials that abrasive waterjets contain.
Initially, the water gets pressurized to around 4000 atmospheres. Then, the water passes to a diamond or ruby nozzle via a high-pressure tube. The diameter of the nozzle is tiny, ranging between 0.1mm and 0.4mm. Such a narrow opening concentrates the ejected water at high pressure. The velocity reaches up to 1000m/s, almost three times greater than the speed of sound. The intensity and the force involved are responsible for the precision of the waterjet cutting process.
Components Of The Waterjet Cutting Process
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Conveying System
The system allows the repositioning of the nozzle. Whereby X-Y usage varies according to the desired cutting path.
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Catcher Tank
Once using abrasive-mixed water to cut through objects, the tank dispels the waterjet force. The catcher tank is commonly found in abrasive cutting.
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Ultra-High-Pressure Pump
The pressure pump gets powered by an ultra-high voltage generator. The machine is therefore responsible for creating pressurized water essential for cutting. A key factor is regulating the pressure needed to enable smooth cutting.
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Nozzle
A diamond or ruby are materials that make up a nozzle. The nozzle allows the emission of ultra-pressurized water, enabling the cutting of a material. Such an item uses an abrasive mixing chamber, allowing appropriate mixing of abrasives before emission.
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CNC Controller
A CNC controller guides the software on how to use a waterjet cutter. The guiding machine enables all sub-procedures that go through the cutter functions properly.
What Aret The Advantages of Using The Waterjet Cutting Process?
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Appropriate for Most Materials
Waterjets cut through items with a thickness of up to 200mm. Also, the process is capable of shearing through thin materials like paper. Furthermore, deformity cases are rare if you use the correct waterjet cutting technique.
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Eco-Friendly
The waterjet cutting process uses highly pressurized water to cut through materials. Therefore, no chemical addition is necessary for the cutting process. Such a trait removes the chances of hazardous waste products after cutting. Also, no or minimal dust generation makes the procedure safe for workers.
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Improvement of Edge Quality
End products obtain uniform and smooth cut edges after using the waterjet cutting process. Unlike other finishes, using the second method to perfect quality is unnecessary. Such an omission simplifies the task of manufacturers in the cutting process. Additionally, cutting precisely through 3D materials and varying shapes is possible.
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Better Operating Efficiency
Due to the omission of additional finishing, you can save on cost and time. Materials get cut rapidly with minimal chances of deformity.
One of the evolving machining processes in industries is waterjet machining. Most enterprises have adopted the technique to acquire superb results. At Creatingway, the method aids us in cutting through diverse materials. Also, its eco-friendliness helps preserve the environment and safeguard our workers’ health. Kindly involve Creatingway to obtain desired end products with no deformity to projects requiring a waterjet process for cutting.
What’s The Advantage Of The Waterjet Cutting Process?
When you are considering the waterjet cutting process, we need to know about its advantage as below:
- It is suitable for all materials like plastic and metal materials.
- As it is cold cutting, which does not produce thermal, so your products will not have deformation, hanging slag, no ablation, and no change in the physical and chemical properties of the materials.
- Its cutting line is very small, so we can improve the material utilization rate.
- The cutting medium only has water and the natural abrasive, the cutting process does not produce other substances, which is a clean and environmentally friendly cutting process.
- The cutting surface is neat and smooth after cutting, which will not cause any damage to the cut object in the process of cutting. So it can play with many cutting tools that can’t achieve the cutting operation.
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